


Dangerous Boy

by sweet_arsenic



Series: I Know Trouble When I See It [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: ??? or its equivalent in a/b/o verse anyway, Alpha Lance (Voltron), Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - College/University, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Bottom Keith (Voltron), Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Friends With Benefits, Gender Issues, I guess but I'm not sure??, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Internalized Homophobia, Light Angst, M/M, Mirror Sex, Misunderstandings The Fanfic basically, Omega Keith (Voltron), Pining Lance (Voltron), Rimming, Sexism, Slow Burn, Slut Shaming, Top Lance (Voltron), Wall Sex, cause why not, for how shitty our world is, hell lot of, this is all one big metaphor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-23
Updated: 2019-01-04
Packaged: 2019-02-19 00:57:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 63,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13112421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweet_arsenic/pseuds/sweet_arsenic
Summary: Lance had a major crush on Shiro's brother.Which wouldn't be a bad thing except:1.) Shiro was super protective of Keith and killed any unworthy Alpha who so much as touched his brother, and2.) Lance was already currently screwing Keith behind Shiro's back.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my least fucked up story so far and I wrote it out of spite. If you're like me, bring out your laptops and contribute to the Bottom!Keith and Omega!Keith tags because the fandom is seriously missing out and I've taken matters into my own hands by publishing my half-assed smut.
> 
> PSA: This work was made by a multishipper, ANTIS (and everyone who is okay with hating on ships) BEGONE

There is an infinite number of reasons why Lance found it hard to believe he was still friends with Shiro.

It might've been his inferiority complex acting up (which he found increasingly hard to ignore when standing next to the epitome of Alpha known as Takashi Shirogane), but sometimes he was adamant about the fact that he was undeserving of such a friend. Unlike him, Shiro didn't seem to have a problem with fitting in or knowing what he wanted. He was popular and well-liked and, even with taking away all the superficial things about him, the guy was still patient, supportive, and one hell of a great person to hang out with. Which was saying a lot because Lance knew he wasn't the easiest guy to tolerate (again, his insecurities acting up).

And Lance could've done a lot to betray their friendship, but none seem to compete with every time Lance visited Shiro's apartment.

The first time he did it, all the blame was completely on fate. Or God or whatever holy being controlled the intricacies of the universe.

As if _he_ knew that Shiro had a baby brother.

And not just any brother. An _Omega_. A overwhelmingly gorgeous, out-of-his-league, spoiled Omega.

And he swears by all that is good, he just honest to God wanted to invite Shiro out drinking because they finished finals. His best friend, Hunk, was out of town to celebrate a birthday and Pidge was clearly out of the picture when it came to bars because she could hardly pass as a sixteen-year-old.

To get his story straight, he happened to be nearby, remembered Shiro's address from that one time he told him, and just showed up in his doorstep with nothing but good intentions. Well, he was preparing to get drunk but that wasn't the point.

The point was that Lance never knew what he had coming when he rung the doorbell.

Shiro opened the door, surprised and clearly confused as to why Lance was there. He was wearing comfort clothes and looked a little bit drained from exams, judging from his unkempt hair and the dark circles under his eyes (nice to know he was still human, after all). It took some time to tell him his proposition, and then convince the other Alpha to drop all responsibilities for a night of partying and regretful decisions.

"I don't know, my brother's here and I was just planning on staying home." Shiro scratched the back of his head, contemplating as he brought out a can of coke from the fridge. Shiro walked over to the living room, placing the can on a wooden coffee table in front of Lance. _It's cool, I totally understand_ , he meant to say. But Shiro took his few seconds of silence to do a 180-degree turn by proposing something else. "Hold on, let me get my brother. Maybe he can tag along, if you don't mind?"

Lance shrugged. "Sure, sure. I'll stay here," he assured, leaning back comfortably on the couch to make his point. Shiro muttered a thanks and disappeared out the back door. And he did stay there, sipping his coke and surveying the rather expensive-looking furniture around him that clearly told him Shiro was from a pretty well-off family.

Until he heard a whiny voice call out, " _Ta-ka-shi,_ " after a few seconds, "did you order the pizza yet?"

It caught him off guard. He placed his coke on the table and figured it was the brother Shiro was talking about. Since the Alpha was nowhere to be seen and probably still searching for the said brother, Lance stood up and followed the voice. Until he stopped dead on his tracks when he was met with the sight of a literal angel. Who also happened to look taken aback that he was not, in fact, 'Takashi' and that there was a stranger in their house.

Curious but wary violet eyes looked him up and down before speaking, and Lance could feel his knees turning into jelly.

"Can I help you?"

_Holy shit, yes, you can._

Pale, unblemished skin, long, dark hair tied into a ponytail, and a hot body donning Shiro's old oversized football jersey jacket. A sweet fragrance that laced his skin, subtle but strong enough to tell Lance that the boy was an Omega. An unmated _Omega_.

Lance didn't have the smoothest history with dating, and certainly not with Omegas. If the one standing in front of him was just a regular Omega he'd met on campus or anywhere else, he could bet you that he would already be whipping out his best lines and hoping to leave with the mysterious beauty's number (albeit often failing anyway). But this was Shiro's brother and every code in the history of friendship was screaming at Lance to take his eyes off before the staring became borderline creepy.

"I-um I'm Shiro's friend...?" Lance stuttered out, voice coming off as a little more high-pitched than he would've liked to admit. Yes, safe response. An appropriate response to a hot stranger who is clearly off-limits.

“Oh,” was all the boy said, his lips curling up into a subtle smirk.

Red alarms were blaring in his head. Clearly, Lance hadn't been entirely good at hiding his attraction, but nothing bad could come from it if he didn't act from it, right? Before Lance was able to answer, the back door opened behind them and Shiro was walking in. “Lance, I’m gonna go check upstairs and- oh, Keith. You’re here.”

Shiro’s brother immediately dropped any hints of flirting and he walked over to his side, passing by Lance as if he wasn’t there. “Takashi, I was asking if you finished ordering the pizza.”

Almost immediately (and lance would've made fun of him for it if it weren't Shiro or if he did not have the same reaction when interacting with his younger siblings or cousins), the Alpha's eyes softened. “Not yet," he answered gently, before his eyes snapped to Lance and, consequently, so did Keith’s. “This is Lance, by the way, a friend from campus.”

Keith seemed completely unimpressed, the opposite of how he acted when Shiro was absent, and just gave Lance a curt greeting before averting his attention back to his brother. “Well, Lance and I were just planning to go out, and I was hoping we could just eat out,” Shiro suggested, but Keith still pouted in evident disapproval. “Afterwards, we’re getting drinks. I could drop you back here if you don’t feel like it, though.”

At that, Keith’s eyes lit up and he was nodding not a second later. “Sure. Just let me get dressed.”

 

* * *

 

The night was already rolling in by the time they left the apartment, giving them less time to savor their meal before heading to the bar. It was mostly because Shiro took one look at Keith’s black crop top and Lance just knew they were already toeing the beginning of a typical sibling argument. “No.”

Seemingly unfazed and only slightly scowling, Keith argued, “I’ll wear a jacket over it.”

And thank God he did, because Lance was finding it difficult to make excuses not to stare at the Omega too long. Of course, the tight leather pants he wore didn’t really help the Alpha’s case either.

They spent a few more minutes over it, and Shiro was still in disapproval by the end of it, but he tossed his jacket to Keith anyway so that they can be on their way.

Later in the night, when Keith left for the bathroom after finishing his meal, Shiro’s eyes protectively trailed after his brother until he was sure no one was going to approach him. “I was actually hoping Keith wouldn’t want to go out tonight.” The older Alpha sighed. “I've always been kinda worried about him entering... this kind of lifestyle.”

Lance, who was taking a long sip from his drink almost choked, covering it up with an awkward laugh instead. “Um, I’m pretty sure he’ll be alright. He seems responsible And uh, tough.”

Shiro looked down and frowned into the plate of fries in front of him, shaking his head. “Yeah, he is. But I’m still scared of him getting into an accident or falling for the wrong mate, you know? He’s still my brother.”

And Lance understood because he had Omega siblings too. Two, in fact. But they were older than him and he always felt like they knew what was good for themselves, even more than Lance did. He kinda got the hint that Keith knew what was good for himself too, but Shiro was too overprotective to see it.

“Yeah, I feel you.”

“So you gotta look out for him too.”

“Wai- what?”

Shiro’s eyes bore into his and Lance felt himself frozen solid. “Just tell me if you see anyone bothering him later. He hates it when I stay glued to his side in these kind of places, but I figured he wouldn’t notice if it were you.”

Before he had a chance to reply, Keith was walking up their table and demanding they clear their plates of food as fast as possible. It was time for the drinks.

 

* * *

 

 

He blamed fate for bringing him to Shiro’s undeniably delectable brother, but it was all on him when Keith drunkenly kissed him and he kissed back.

His only line of defense was that he might’ve had too much to drink, but even he knew that that excuse was invalid.

It was a long story. But Keith’s been teasingly grinding against him in the dancefloor and giving him _the look_ since they escaped Shiro’s line of vision. That is not to say that he didn’t feel even a sliver of guilt when they ended up heavily making out in the corner and Keith’s pale fingers found their way up his shirt.

“Holy fuck,” Lance gasped, gripping Keith’s dark locks in what probably was too hard as cold hands explored his body. He ached to do his fair share of experimenting too, one of his hands firmly latched unto the Omega's waist because he was still hesitant about going any further. Even that was already enough to make him feel the twitch of arousal, knowing he’d have to do something about it soon before the whole bar found out he was sporting a hard on.

Keith didn’t seem to get the message, or maybe he just liked the thrill. Judging from the glint in his eyes, it was the latter. "Scared, Alpha?"

“This is so wrong,” Lance whispered when Keith finally broke the kiss and went for his neck instead.

But the Omega only briefly rolled his eyes and teasingly grinded on his leg. “I can always find another Alpha if you aren’t up for the game.”

Soon the Alpha in him was growling posessively and leading him to pull Keith down to another makeout session. He could feel lips curl into a smirk against his lips before deciding to plunge his tongue down Keith’s throat and praying to every divine being he knew that Shiro would _not_ find them.

 

* * *

 

 

The night ended in an uneventful fashion of Keith being too drunk to carry on and puking his guts out in the public bathrooms. Lance finally decided it was a good time to call Shiro up — who, like the perfect Alpha brother he is, rushed into the bathrooms two minutes after from the other side of the bar. Then he was patiently holding up his brother’s hair and running soothing circles on his back, coaxing the Omega into calmness.

By the time they got into a taxi to head home, Keith was sleepily leaning into his brother, seeking out his familiar Alpha scent. Lance also noticed how Shiro was intentionally projecting comfort and warmth for him. It was almost too cute to see Keith cuddled up into Shiro’s arm while wearing a jacket too big on his body.

“Thanks, Lance.” Shiro spoke softly once they reached Lance’s stop, careful not to wake his brother. His eyes shone in gratitude and a wide smile stretched across his features. “He really had fun tonight, even with the whole puking and all. So thanks for taking care of him, I can take it from here.”

As his words registered, Lance felt the ghosts of Keith’s fingertips on his hot skin, felt his hungry mouth whispering dirty promises into Lance’s in between breaths.

But Keith was drunk. And he was drunk. And there was probably no way they were doing it again. Now, he’s just thankful that the scents in the bar was too overpowering to actually cover up his own on Keith’s body.

“No problem.” Lance squeaked out with a weak smile before slamming the car door shut.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Didn't expect this to be so popular holy shit thank you guys. Here's some trash I wrote during Christmas for you hoes.

Classes continued about a week after the incident and Lance couldn't fathom how he still couldn't get over Keith and his breathy, drunken promises.

He's been hung up over plenty of Omegas before. Attending an all-Alpha school up until middle school had its perks but teaching him how to actually interact with Omegas definitely wasn't one of them. When the hormones came in and they were taught about the birds and the bees, Lance had to nod along and pretend he actually has seen things beyond raunchy magazines he stole from under his older brothers' beds. In reality, puberty-stage Lance was awkward and lanky and still had trouble convincing a lot of people he was actually an Alpha. The furthest he could get was terrible pick-up lines, which was laughably pathetic compared to some experiences his peers were always bragging about (which, in hindsight, were probably faked).

It wasn't until senior year that he actually started becoming less of a flirting mess and grew the balls to take a Beta he's been sitting next to in physics to dinner, which resulted in them going to prom as dates and eventually led to a cliché tale of losing both of their virginities in a cheap hotel room that Lance booked for the night. They never dated, but Lance was always grateful to have her as his first and they stayed pretty good friends throughout the year. They were both laughing, fumbling messes during that time and he honestly didn't care if it didn't live up to the steamy Alpha on Omega porn online that always seemed to involve unrealistically perfect sex.

And that was it — he entered college a changed Alpha.

He had a little bit more luck with dating, shared a few kisses and some alcohol-induced groping with a few Beta and Omega here and there. On one occasion, he even ended up on someone's bed again after a party. That was when he lived through the stories he thought he'd only hear from a middle-schooler's imagination. The one-night stand became an eventual friends-with-benefits after Lance found out how addicting sex with an Omega could actually be. But soon the Omega came clean and confessed that he apparently just slept with Lance to get his ex-boyfriend jealous. Lance assured him it was not a big problem anyway, instinctively wanting to soothe the Omega when the first guilty tears formed. It hurt, but Lance hadn't really expected his dating lifestyle to flourish much anyway.

There were more incidents where he would end up sleeping with people, but most of them did not have such bad intentions and Lance was honestly just down for a good time.

Then there was Nyma.

Nyma was an Omega he convinced himself (and Hunk and Pidge) he was hopelessly in love with, in spite of the fact that they shared absolutely nothing in common. One glance would tell you that she was much too popular for him, but it didn't stop Lance from asking her out every chance that he got and buying her mountains and mountains of gifts. Which, in the end, resulted in a broken heart and an empty wallet.

Pidge and Hunk did tell him — during the 'unmentionable days' when he bathed approximately three days a week and refused to go to class or eat food that wasn't cup noodles — that his actions were a tad creepy and desperate when it came to Nyma. It took Pidge and Hunk teaming up and planning a surprise visit from his mom for him to actually get his shit together. Not only was he forced to act normal and like he has been going to class for the past weeks while she was there, but he was also forced to look at his own mess and decide there was some serious cleaning to do.

He bounced back into the average college lifestyle, healthy cramming, working part-time, and some doses of partying and drinking. Toned down the sleeping around because he figured that he wasn't really up for it so soon after Nyma. But his grades were already close to failing and his professors were threatening to kick him out of the program. Lance panicked and asked Pidge for help, who ended up finding him a tutor.

Had she mentioned it earlier, Lance would've been spared from the internal screaming fest when Takashi Shirogane _himself_ walked into the library doors and, despite what Lance was expecting, plopped down next to him to introduce himself. Turns out Pidge's brother knew him 'cause they bascially grew up together, so she was easily able to ask him for a favor. It took some getting use to to actually form coherent sentences whenever his literal role model asked him what page in the chapter covered Einstein's Theory of Relativity again. Once they got past the awkward situation they were in (the awkwardness was mostly one-sided, though), Lance found out that Shiro was actually just a normal graduate student who somehow kept a straight-A record while maintaining his football career and social life. Not a literal god, but close.

And all the reminiscing was reminding Lance why Shiro was such a good friend who helped him pick up his shit and he should definitely _not_ pay him back by thinking about being balls-deep in his little brother.

"Why is this an actual problem again?" Pidge dangled a soggy nacho soaked in cheese while one hand typed in her laptop. "You know how wrong it is to want to bone Keith. Then don't bone him."

Lance huffed and looked at Hunk for support, but Hunk was busy with his special plate of tacos (it was taco day) and seemingly too distracted to notice his friend's ongoing crisis. "Well, _I_ think the real question is how you knew Shiro had a hot little brother and didn't even bother warning me."

This is it, this is his punishment because he offended the gods in some way. He has cursed himself. Though, he probably should've seen it a mile away considering Shiro looked like he stepped out of an _Abercrombie & Fitch_ shoot, so it would've been so surprise at all that any siblings he could have had are no lesser in the God's Perfection Meter.

"Ew, stop calling him that. Just thinking about you and Keith together is making me lose my appetite."

The Alpha groaned in frustration and resigned to looking around the rest of the cafeteria filled with miserable, half-awake college students holding coffee cups. It was a whole campus of gorgeous Omegas and Betas that he honestly probably had a better chance to score with, even start a relationship with, but he had to go and fuck up his life by crushing on the one Omega he knew was off-limits and a certified friendship breaker (and probably a multiple-other-body-parts breaker if Shiro finds out about how much Lance actually 'protected' Keith in the bar).

"How did you two meet again?" Hunk asked beside him.

"Shiro's apartment, looked adorable in a jersey, wore a crop top to the bar, might've tried to suffocate me via making out," Lance explained in monotone, while he heard Pidge fake gag in the background.

"Maybe he might be interested in a date? And you could, you know, see where it goes if you really want to date him."

"Maybe Shiro might be interested in breaking my arm. Plus I'm not even sure if this is the start of me being hella in love with this Omega or just a prolonged wet dream that I'm actually awake enough to suffer."

A mocking cough from across the table, Pidge clacking away with her laptop again. "Please don't say these things cause it'll be the only things I would be able to think of when I have to face Keith again. Also, Shiro the Golden Boy is coming over here so I suggest you stop putting the words 'Keith' and 'wet dreams' in the same sentence now."

Casually sitting up and trying not to look like he was alerted of his presence beforehand, Lance turned around and greeted Shiro once he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, guys. How'd you enjoy the break?" Shiro offered them a smile while Hunk offered some friendly half-eaten nachos.

They all chimed in with less-than-glorious accounts of what they did over the week, but Shiro seemed undeterred and remained perfectly charismatic even in an early Monday morning (he also took one nacho and thanked Hunk for it). Then he turned to Lance and brought up a paper bag.

"Hey, Lance. This is for you. Keith wanted me to give you this, said he wanted to thank you for putting up with him while he was drunk." The bag was carefully placed in Lance's hands and he warily looked up to meet Shiro's eyes, seeing a flicker of suspicion before being flooded once more with unconditional kindness. "Kinda unusual 'cause Keith has a hard time warming up to strangers, but it seems that he really liked you."

_Yeah, Keith really liked him alright_. _If that wasn't obvious by the length of time their lips stayed glued together while safely shielded from Shiro's protective eyes._

"T-Thanks," Lance nervously croaked out, seeing Pidge developing a dangerous smirk from the corner of his eyes. "So, uh, how's Keith doing?"

"He's alright. Had to skip school today because his heat came a few days ago, though."

_Oh dear Lord._

Lance definitely didn't need the thought of Keith going through heat in his head while Shiro was right next to him and would kill him the moment he smelled Lance's lust in the air.

"That's... not good. Well, take care of him, I guess. Like, through _that_. The heat thing." He tried to ignore the obvious sound of his friends trying to hold back their laughter, much to Shiro's obliviousness.

The other Alpha just cheerfully nodded and left them to finish their poor excuse of a breakfast.

"So..." Pidge chimed in, clacking sounds from the keyboard now absent, "Keith _warmed up_ to you good, huh?"

"Shut up."

Hunk exploded in uncontrollable laughter afterwards.

 

* * *

 

Once Lance got home, the paper bag was placed at the foot of his bed and became both a curse and a gift.

On one hand, it meant that Keith wasn't over him either.

On the other hand, was that really a _good_ thing?

He couldn't decide. And apparently he let his dick do the thinking again when he ended up clutching the contents of the bag to his nose while frantically pumping up and down his member, trying to envision thin, pale fingers teasingly stroking him to completion.

It turned out to be an old sweater drenched with the natural scent of Keith and the enticing added scent of an Omega in heat.

It sent a pretty clear message to Lance, " _Come and get me_ ".

Soon his pants were gone and his hand was on his dick faster than an Alpha on his first rut. Hunk wasn't going to be home until eleven and Lance was a weak man, apparently becoming a slave to his hormones just from any reminder of Keith. So he figured, why not just have one crazy night to let these fantasies go wild and wake up in the morning pretending it never happened so he can still face his close friend and tutor.

That was how he ended up muffling moans of Keith's name under his hand and trying to recreate the sound of the Omega's voice in his imagination.

_"You're bigger than I imagined."_

His imaginary Keith, combined with the hazy memories from the bar, whispered into his ear.

" _Can't wait to feel you inside me_."

He wondered how Keith was like during heat. He's only heard stories of Omegas in heat from friends and sometimes watched a video or two that he knew was faked anyway. But he had a pretty good picture. Would his heat be strong? So strong it'd made him leak everywhere, desperately claw at the scent of an unmated Alpha and beg for their knot? He could imagine those creamy legs spreading, body writhing in desire above soon-to-be-soiled sheets. His mind formed the image of him giving Keith what he wanted, and Keith taking that and so much more, bratty Omega that he is. Keith pushing him back and trying to tower over him, riding Lance hard and fast like he wanted to dominate instead of be dominated-

" _Bet you'll fuck me good, won't you, Alpha?_ "

It was enough to make Lance weakly cry out and spill his seed into his hands. He gave himself a few seconds to catch his breath and eventually reach for the tissue next to his bed, guiltily wiping off any evidence of the session he just had.

Lance tucked the old sweater back into the bag and tossed it at the very end of his closet, hopefully not to be uncovered by anyone. Afterwards he miserably crawled into bed and tried to get some shut-eye or some semblance of peace that wasn't haunted by the thought of Keith.

He _really_ needed to get over that Omega.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this was supposed to be just porn-with-a-little-plot but it got so many kudos and positive comments (love ya all by the way) that I actually had to start rolling in some more plot. You signed up for Bottom Keith but I hope you're ready for a ride of Backstory™ and Character Development™ (y'know, if my writing doesn't fuck it up).


	3. Chapter 3

Icarus was the embodiment of playing with fire. His tale told of how he stretched his wax wings and flew without restraint, testing and testing how far he could push his limits until falling to his imminent doom. The boy flew too close to the sun, and the world showed him just what happens to those who don’t live with caution.

Lance never thought he’d ever relate to a tale from ancient Greek mythology. He remembered listening to it in eighth grade, half-lidded eyes wandering to the view behind classroom windows and attention draining little by little. It was difficult, of course, to actually look like he understood the importance of the story being told when everything around him was tempting him to get his ass out of the classroom as fast as he can.

There were moments of his life that he felt could connect to the story — times he procrastinated on papers, nights when he snuck out of his bedroom, the numerous hours he spent locked up in his bedroom hoping no one in the family would catch him jerking off (he shared a bedroom with two other brothers, it was always risky) — but none seemed to compare to the next encounter he had with Shiro’s brother.

Admittedly, Lance wasn’t one to live with caution. He didn't watch his every step and do heavy calculations before he made a decision. Most of the time, he found himself just barely dodging the would-be consequences of his reckless actions, but that didn't mean he was the kind of person to live in in the constant thrill of danger either. He was kind of in the gray zone. He knew that there was no way too much of anything could be good for him, and he often heeded his instincts when it internally yelled GTFO. But, like many, he never found it an easy task.

He knew he should’ve turned around the moment he caught a whiff of that sweet, familiar scent again. Instantly, his mind was flooded with memories of Keith during and after the bar incident, his excitement ringing too loud in his ears for his mind to actually recall how wrong it was to pursue Keith especially after Lance drooling over his faint heat scent like an Alpha on their first rut. Regardless of the blaring warnings, he took a sharp turn and obediently followed the signs leading to the Omega like a trained puppy.

Had it been any other day, Lance wouldn’t really spend much time in the library. It wasn’t like he genuinely disliked learning, he just couldn’t stand how silent the whole environment was. Growing up with a big family got him used to hearing background noise. Even if their house didn’t sound like a typhoon was breaking out because two people found something to argue about, there was always the sound of feet hitting the ground, the faint hum of the TV, water from the faucet, birds chirping outside — there was always a hint of life. But the library was cold and quiet and full of people who tried to make as little noise as possible. It wasn’t the kind of place for him.

On the rare times that he _did_ visit any of the multiple libraries they have scattered throughout campus, though, it was with a purpose. Finishing a class and seeing Keith entering the building across him was a good enough purpose, his brain apparently decided.

Keith was just as eye-catching as he remembered, easily sticking out among a group of students lining up to get in the library. The Omega slipped past quietly, scanning his student ID (why hadn’t Lance thought to ask if he was a student in the university before?) without any problem and naturally attracting a few curious glances from the people around him. Even those who weren’t Alphas were perturbed by the scent of an unmated Omega in an educational institution as prestigious as a university. Especially one like Garrison, which was known to have a less than pure reputation when it came to discrimination against Omegas.

The sad truth was that Omegas weren’t really a common sight in colleges, especially unmated ones. Most people assume that Omegas don’t even want to pursue higher education, naturally just content with finding a mate to settle down with and eventually nursing children at home all day long. To many, it still seemed like a taboo to have an Omega in Keith’s age do anything besides stay at home.

Although he tried to tell himself otherwise, Lance knew that the main reason he was going into the same library as Keith was to get the chance to be near the Omega. Nevertheless, he eased his conscience by internally arguing that he was looking for Pidge, even as his eyes followed Keith’s raven hair.

As soon as he entered the doors and the air conditioning hit him, Lance’s eyes curiously searched his surroundings for the lithe Omega. From a nearby shelf, he absent-mindedly picked up a book to pretend like he actually has another purpose for being there. But he didn’t have to wait long for Keith to eventually find _him_.

“I was wondering when I’d see you again.” A voice softly called from behind him, accompanied by the addicting scent he’s grown familiar with from the time in the bar. Lance turned around and sure enough, there Keith was. His hair was loose, messily pointing to several directions yet still somehow framing his face perfectly. Instead of sporting the downright adorable, comfy-looking clothing he had on when they first met or the somewhat adventurous crop top and dark clothes he wore at the bar, Keith looked more like an average college student trying to blend in with his dark jeans and sweater.

But he still had the same expression on, mouth almost curled upwards to reveal a smirk, but not quite. Like he was playing cat-and-mouse with Lance, but he already knew he was coming out as the winner anyway. "Did you get my present?"

Thinking back on the kinds of people Lance decided he wasn’t, he wondered if maybe Keith thought of himself as the kind of person who lived in the thrill of the moment.

Keith's question sent Lance's mind to places he didn't really want his thoughts to wander to so early in the day, especially in the library of all places. a blush spread through his face and he swore he could feel the heat all the way down the back of his neck, just thinking back at his half-asleep fantasies of Keith in heat. Lance nodded.

“You go here,” Lance said more than asked. Keith just looked amused.

“Did you follow me?” he countered instead, doding the Alpha’s question. Except he didn’t seem to be waiting for an answer because he was already walking past Lance with swaying hips and a teasing tone to his voice. “If you did, we can have lunch at that nice place near gate two that serves good bibimbap, I’m craving Korean.”

Lance should’ve known he was in for trouble right then and there, but another side of him was jumping up and down at the thought of Keith possibly wanting to spend more time with him. It took less than a second later for it to deflate at the memory of Shiro making him promise to take care of Keith.

“Where’s Shiro?”

Keith turned around and was apparently caught off guard at the thought of his protective brother, but quickly masked it with a sly grin. “Why? Are you afraid of getting caught?”

“I- We’re not doing anything!” Lance squeaked defensively, knowing just how much of a lie it actually is. The Omega in front of him just corked his head to the side in mock innocence, strands of his long hair falling to reveal part of his bare neck. Lance had to yank his attention away from the sight. “Really? And I thought we were gonna recreate the performance from the bar.”

Then he was much, much too close for them to be considered ' _not doing anything_ ’. So close that Lance started speculating how no one in the library had seem to catch on how close theywere to breaking a hundred campus rules. “If you wanna play it safe, I can do that too. But _I_ want an Alpha who can keep up with me.” Keith’s breath tickled his ear, his warmth invaded his space, and one of his hands had latched unto Lance’s arm, fingers playfully tracing his sleeves.

Before Lance could get used to the feeling of Keith pressed up against him again, the other boy was pulling away and walking towards the tables in the far end of the floor like nothing had even transpired between them behind the dusty, old shelves.

Lance could almost smell the message in the air. Keith was inviting him to play a game, and if he wanted to be a player, he had to live with the risks. It was different from guiltily thinking about Keith in bed, or making out with him once in the dark — playing the game meant all or nothing and his actions then and there were going to decide which option he'd aim for.

Deciding to bet everything he had on the table, Lance happily followed.

He hoped he knew better than to fly too close to the sun with this one.

 

* * *

 

 

After the brief moment with Keith in the more obscure parts of the library that confirmed Keith did, in fact, wanted to at least make out with him again — he was certain it would just be a quick session like they had in the bar and they’d head off their separate ways hoping Shiro was home late enough for Keith to run to the bathroom and take a quick shower to wash Lance’s scent off of him.

He didn’t know how he ended up sitting in the booth of a tacky Asian restaurant with Keith happily situated across him, animatedly talking to another Alpha.

Lotor was… hard to describe.

From what he gathered, the fellow Alpha was from a wealthy family who mostly consisted of well-known alumni of the university. Growing up as such, Lotor had apparently received nothing less than the finest education his parents could give him and ended up in the same university, where he is now ahead of his class as well as a prized member of the football team (which is a sport, the Alpha bragged, he had been playing since childhood).

All of which he explained in his pretentious, posh accent.

Yeah, Lance didn’t like him one bit.

But Keith hardly seemed to notice, instead intent on continuing to listen to Lotor’s story of how he once won a game even with a broken arm (Lance tried not to grimace at that, but he couldn't help that every word coming out of Lotor's mouth sounded like a straight-up lie), complete attention centered on the other Alpha.

It especially didn’t help that he could see the faintest hint of Lotor inching closer and closer to Keith. The two seemed to ignore him as if he wasn’t there at all.

"-but I persevered. After all, my family has a saying that one must never back down in the face of an adversary. Surely it is something taught to all Alphas, since we are expected to be the carers and protectors of the family. Isn't that right, Lucas?"

Lance snapped while stabbing a plate full of food (he gave up on chopsticks a few minutes back, even when he heard Lotor hide a mocking scoff behind his hand), "It's Lance."

"Apologies, I tend to forget names easily. It is rare to find someone whose name just naturally sticks into my memory." Lotor's eyes twinkled as they looked up to meet Keith's. "It is a wonder I remembered Keith's the moment we were introduced. However, an Omega so alluring undoubtedly deserves a place in my memory."

Lance coughed awkwardly into his napkin and stood. "I'm going to the bathroom."

The two shrugged him off and didn't seem to mind him leaving, too engrossed practically staring into each others' eyes as Lotor told more of his shitty stories. From behind him, he heard the faintest whisper from the other Alpha.

"Is that Lucas your cousin or-?"

Lance walked a little faster and might've slammed the bathroom door shut too hard.

 

* * *

 

 

“Are you planning on keeping him?”

Keith lazily sipped his drink from a straw, teeth biting into the plastic out of habit. His eyes were trained on the closed bathroom door that Lance had entered just a moment ago, obviously more than a little annoyed from Keith and Lotor’s antics. “I don’t know. He’s a bit cute and a great kisser. And he’s friends with Shiro, which is fun.”

The Alpha just chuckled and rolled his eyes. “This is your third Alpha this month. I’m begging you to find a mate so that I wouldn’t have to keep reducing myself to a jealousy device for your hook-ups.”

“Hey, no one told you to put up the performance you did. You enjoy the act,” Keith argued.

“That I cannot deny.” Lotor leaned back into the soft seat of the booth and huffed, “Hand over the receipt, you’re paying me back for that meal, by the way.”

“Always a pleasure to work with you.”

Keith received a playful smack for the line and they soon get back into character as soon as Lance came out of the bathroom.

 

* * *

 

 

“I’ve heard of a new place that opened up nearby. Maybe we can pay it a visit?” Lotor later suggested when they were about to part ways and Keith brought up drinking.

Keith’s eyes lit up at the thought of possibly recreating the scene he had with Lance a few days back and maybe toying with the Alpha a bit more with their act, but a possessive hand was soon placed on his hips and holding him firmly in place. “No thanks, I think I’ll be bringing Keith home now. His brother is probably waiting.”

Lance gave him little time to say his goodbyes to the other Alpha before promptly leading away, hand no longer resting at his waist but the feeling lingering long after. Keith spared a second to look back at Lotor and share a knowing smile with the Alpha, while his friend merely waved him goodbye with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

Keith was a little put off by Lance’s attitude the entire time, a little annoyed, but he had written it off as a typical Alpha personality and settled to pretending there was absolutely nothing wrong with their arrangement as they made their way back to Shiro’s apartment.

Hopefully, his brother wasn’t home yet.

 

* * *

 

 

Shiro wasn’t home yet and Keith couldn’t tell you how he ended up on the couch on top of Lance, their lips locked together and their hands both under each other’s layers of clothes. Keith enjoyed making out, he took it like a challenge and often tried his best to rile his partner up in his ministrations. Of course, it also helped in simply indulging with another person in ways aside from sex.

Lance didn’t seem to see it as something to compete over, since he was more of a lazily-makeout kind of person. His hands stroked Keith’s skin sensually, riding his shirt up a little as they traced the outlines of his slender back. But Keith was slowly getting tired of that, replacing it with passion and hunger with every twist of his hips that grinded deliciously on the growing hard on in Lance’s pants.

“Fuck, you don’t know when to quit,” Lance growled in a brief moment of frustration, his Alpha side embarassingly coming out with the way Keith’s been acting in the past few hours.

“From the way you’re hellbent on insisting to protect me for Shiro and also getting in my pants at the same time, I’d say you don’t know either,” Keith teased, swiping his hand experimentally across Lance’s erection.

A hand grabbed his wrist before he could do anything else. "You shouldn't toy with Alphas, Keith." A warning.

Keith blinked at the reaction and only smiled at Lance. "So I've been told." A playful lick across Lance's collarbone. "Good thing I don't do what I'm told."

At that, Keith was adjusting his body so that his face was directly levelled with Lance's crotch, fingers close to sliding his jeans off. Tantalizing violet eyes bore into his, promising a world of both hell and heaven as long as Lance played by his rules. "So, do you really want this, Alpha?"

Lance let out a breathy, “yes”. His voice was huskier and lower than usual, a touch impatient with just the right tinge of lust.

With little fanfare, he pulled down Lance's boxers with his jeans and unveiled the standing cock beneath it. Clearly strained within the fabric, it sprung free and was practically dangled in front of Keith's wide eyes like a treat.

Lance's dick was _perfect_. If Keith could worship it, he would. Though he may not look like it, Lance was sporting a pretty good package, in Keith's opinion (and Keith's opinion mattered because he's seen his fair share of dicks). Just the kind of girth and length Keith appreciated in an Alpha.

Deciding to not waste any more time, a long lick was delivered along the curve of Lance's cock. Keith made a show of tracing a particularly thick vein up the dick using his small, pink tongue. The groan Lance gave off was absolutely heavenly, strong hands immediately gripped his hair with just the right amount of force to make the pain pleasurable.

Keith smirked and knew exactly how the night would end up.

Confidently, his mouth engulfed the swollen head of the cock, making Lance unconsciously buck his hips. The action led to the Omega taking in a bit more of the length than he was prepared to. He choked around the cock and made an irritated noise with his mouth still wrapped around it — Lance whispered an apology afterwards.

Then Keith took the rest of Lance's dick inside his mouth in one second. Lance was nearly cumming afterwards, settling instead to curse profusely and restrain himself from pushing his cock deeper into the Omega sinful throat.

Keith's head energetically bobbed up and down as he throated the thick cock like a porn star (which led Lance to wonder how many times Keith has done this before and why Shiro seemed to be extremely oblivious of it), hands supporting Lance's own and squeezing tight as of to signify that Lance was allowed to play rough. Soon the Alpha got the message and Keith relaxed his throat and tried to take in as much of Lance as possible.

Lance then actively pulled Keith to swallow his member deeply, thrusting into the wet, tight heat at his own pace. Being slightly bigger than partners he was used to, Keith felt the tears forming in the corner of his eyes and the familiar burn in his throat at the rough thrusting — but he didn't mind. He didn't care. He _reveled_ in the feeling. “K-Keith... so good, oh my god.”

Wanting to see the performance himself, his hooded eyes trailed up to meet Lance's and that just seemed to turn the Alpha on more. Keith knew that his face was flushed and his lips were wet with saliva and precum while they were stretched around the massive cock. Lance just thrusted harder down his throat until Keith swore he could feel him all the way in his stomach.

Not being able to bear leaving his own arousal alone, Keith's fingers found their way to his ass, his hole already leaking from their ministrations. Keith put two fingers inside himself and moaned at the feeling. He massaged the silky walls as far as he could and tried to mimic Lance's rhythm.

“You look like such a slut right now, taking my cock while you're fingering yourself open.” Lance's husky voice sent shivers down his spine again. Then he halted momentarily to sit up, confusing Keith. He was about to slide his mouth free and question the Alpha himself why he had suddenly stopped when Keith felt two fingers, longer and much thicker than his own, poke his entrance. "Mm!" Keith yelped in surprise, but it soon melted into a satisfied moan when Lance's fingers entered and joined his, thrusting and massaging his walls. Feeling no need for his own fingers anymore, he pulled them out and slid them down to his own neglected cock, which was already red from their actions. Sensing Lance was not too far from finishing himself, Keith wrapped slender fingers around his own cock and tried to get himself off. At the same time, he refused to ignore the cock in his mouth and still gave it plenty of attention, letting Lance use his throat as a hole to thrust into.

The long fingers inside of him were exploring curiously, soon hitting a bundle of nerves that had him crying out, only muffled by the cock shoved down his throat. The Alpha moaned at how tight Keith's throat went, proceeding to continuously thrust into the same spot inside Keith over and over and again, driving him close to an orgasm and making his legs shake. Lance's pace was unrelenting, his fingers moved inside Keith in and out, and his cock was pushing deeper and deeper into his throat.

"I'm close." Lance was panting like he was running a marathon, face red and sweaty, his entire body clearly undone just from Keith's mouth. And Keith always loved to see the kind of effect he had on his partners, it drove him insane.

At a particular rough thrust into his prostate, Keith was tightening up around Lance's fingers and cumming into his hand, careful not to drop any on the sofa below (it would be harder to hide _that_ kind of evidence from Shiro). Lance followed right after him.

"F-fuck! Keith!" He thrusted deep one more time before pulling out and releasing right into Keith's face, the seed sloppily hitting the Omega's cheek and open mouth. Keith obediently kept lips stretched wide enough for some to get on his tongue, while his eyes were shut closed — practically a picture-perfect image for the kind of Omegas presented in porn.

Once Lance was finished, Keith gave him a few seconds and then grabbed a tissue box from the nearby table to wipe his remains off of his hands and the cum staining his face. Lance crashed back down the couch to lie down properly, and his fingers had loosened around Keith's locks. The Omega was busy lying down on one part of the couch himself, trying to catch his own breath.

So many thoughts traveled through Lance's mind all at once. He did it. It wasn't just a fantasy anymore, he no longer had an excuse. Now Keith was here and he was real and Lance just made him suck his dick. Well... but Keith wanted it too, he basically initiated it. But Lance doubted Shiro would consider that if he ever found out.

"You better get up. Shiro's going to be home soon," Keith helpfully provided after briefly glancing at the wall clock, his voice was still raspy from before and it somehow made Lance hot all over again.

"I can't believe I just got off with Shiro's brother." Lance buried his reddening face into his hands. "Oh my god he is gonna kill me and I will have no excuse."

From the gaps between his fingers, he saw Keith sit up and give a nonchalant shrug. "How can you be so calm about this?"

"Probably 'cause I've done it before. Shiro hasn't caught me then so he definitely won't now."

Lance took his hands away only to see Keith lean down until his breath tickled his still unclothed cock. "Besides, isn't it fun?"

 

* * *

 

 

He walked home that night with a great sense of guilt, but lingering satisfaction. Keith informed him there was nothing to worry about, before hopping into a shower and telling him to let himself out (' _before Shiro catches you_ ' were added). That was after leaving Lance with his number, a kiss on the cheek, and a promise for more soon.

And Lance... Lance could barely keep up with Keith's game. All they've done is a blowjob in the living room couch and he was already praying _Jesus, Mary, Joseph_  for both Shiro to remain oblivious to their actions and a punishment worthy for someone who betrayed their trusted friend by hooking up with their brother.

The cold night did little to ease his worry. It bit into his skin as he walked back home, holding a small piece of paper with Keith's handwriting on it. He wondered how many Alphas had been at that very stage with Keith, questioning whether or not Keith was worth the trouble they would inevitably get if they continued to see him. He wondered where they were now.

He wondered how long he would last in Keith's little game too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this real quick so someone tell me if there are typos and shit. Also I FINALLY created a nsfw sideblog so you guys can go send me stuff there.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said in my blog that I'd be working on some a/b/o sheith but I had to get this chapter out first so
> 
> (unbeta-ed because it's like fucking midnight and I have shit to do tomorrow)

Needless to say, Lance avoided Shiro like a plague in the following days.

Whenever he caught a sight of the Alpha, he’d just straight up turn the other way. Any small interactions with him — be it running into him in the hallways or waving across the street — were mostly curt and cut short. Thankfully, Shiro didn’t seem to notice that Lance wasn’t actually his chatty self and hopefully brushed off the attitude as Lance probably just being too busy and having no time to spare for small talk.

Lance kept summing it up to not wanting to run into Shiro with Keith because that would be, at best, plain awkward, and at worst, probably disastrous. Lance wasn't sure if he was mentally, emotionally, physically prepared to see Keith again so soon after their affair (yeah, he started calling it that) and pretending to 'act normal'. Which, in their established definition, meant pretending that they didn't almost fuck in the same couch Shiro sits on when he watches TV.

But Pidge knew that that totally wasn't the case. Or, well, that there was much more to the story than Lance pretended.

"You're so deep in this shit. I mean, what the hell?" Pidge muttered as she lifted a pile of dusty textbooks from the cold, concrete floor, leaving dust bunnies that Lance found himself absentmindedly eyeing. "I can't believe you got into so much shit so fast. What could someone even _do_ to get into this much shit so fast?"

"Stop saying shit. Even if it _is_ a shitty situation."

"My point stands," she rose a finger as she spoke, "that you are in deep shit. Now get off your ass and help me."

Lance groaned and stood up lazily, hearing a crack in his bones from the amount of time he's been sitting on the floor, watching Pidge clean up her dad's personal study.

 _Technically_ , they weren't allowed in there. Undergrads weren't allowed in the private faculty offices, but Pidge's dad was a long-time and well-trusted faculty member so he had ways of getting away with stuff like that. Even though Hunk and Lance had been hesitant at first, Pidge also added that their dad had been letting Matt sneak into the very same room back when he was still an undergrad too.

Having access to Professor Holt's personal study, however, naturally came with a price — which Matt assured them he had to abide by as well. Which is how Lance always ended up helping Pidge do things like dust the shelves or arrange documents and do general cleaning around the room every now and then. It felt like a small price to pay for staying in a place that was better than the study rooms in the campus libraries, but that didn't mean that Lance particularly enjoyed every task Professor Holt handed to them.

Choosing to keep his mouth shut about how untouched the shelves looked anyway, Lance just grabbed a feather duster and started dusting without complaint. "I can't believe Hunk told you in the first place. I specifically told him not to."

"I can't believe you didn't call me and scream about it a second after. I thought you were crazy about this guy, so I couldn't imagine how you reacted once you processed it all."

He shrugged. He could hear Pidge behind him, still putting away the old books into their respective places. "Shock, I guess? Like, I was just too shocked to believe it actually happened and now I'm just mostly questioning everything."

"Questioning how?"

"Questioning like ' _is Keith interested in me or is he only trying to get into my pants?_ ', or ' _do I_ want _him to be interested in me?_ ', or ' _am I interested in_ him _?_ '." The entire thing came out fast enough that Pidge was able to tell it embarrassed Lance to share. He then laughed and remarked sarcastically, "Pretty light stuff."

The shuffling behind him stopped. "Oh god, do you actually _like_ him?"

The feather duster was put down temporarily. "Maybe. I guess. I don't know."

He could feel the lingering topic in the air. _Nyma_. Every now and then, they still brought it up as gently as they could. Lance no longer felt the familiar sting he used to feel in the earlier days of being rejected, but he was grateful that Pidge and Hunk knew better than to throw out accounts of what took place during that miserable point in his life casually.

Regrettably, though, he felt like the Nyma incident cemented the fact that he couldn't handle rejection very well. Hunk and Pidge never said it out loud, but there were still moments when they look at him almost in pity when he'd recount how things didn't end up the way he planned even when it was something as small as asking someone out to coffee. As if they were preparing to be his only support system again for nearly a month over something so simple.

In all honesty, Lance wasn't quite sure either. He knew that the thing that happened with Nyma brought out the worst in him and made him humiliatingly reliant on his friends without regard to how his family might react if they ever saw him like that. Lance wanted to reassure them somehow that he picked something up from that experience, at least learned to toughen up a bit more when it came to his feelings. But he felt like he was just as soft.

But Keith was different, right? Because Lance had so far not dreamt up any fantasies of courting or even mating Keith (well, maybe the knotting and biting part but not really the being-bound-forever part). As far as he was concerned, the thing he felt for the Omega was purely lust and physical attraction. After all, he knew almost nothing about him.

But, he couldn’t help but wonder, if he really did like Keith, how much would rejection break him?

Pidge sighed, continued what she was doing like she was trying to distract herself. "Keith's a great guy and all, but just know when to quit. Some people aren't worth chasing after forever."

 

* * *

 

 

Pidge’s words rung through his head the entire day and also happened to make some pretty annoying cameos every other day afterwards whenever he was close to forgetting the incident. But that was it. It was like an alarm that he kept pressing the snooze button to, until it eventually shut down and decided ‘ _fuck it, this is your life anyway_ ’. Then he was left to perfect, peaceful silence.

No Keith, no anything. The memory of the Omega became faded and he soon stopped constantly remembering what it felt like to have his body warm against his.

It all led up to a Saturday when Lance was out in a party with Hunk that all the Keith-related stuff he tried to sweep under the rug came to bitchslap him in the face.

If he could say so, the talk with Pidge actually helped him let out a lot of the things he’d been worrying about Keith. Pidge didn’t really offer a lot of comfort, but she was there and she was listening so he figured it was good enough. He felt himself get less worked up about it and focusing on other parts of his life instead of the Keith problem. Which is how he ended up talking to a pretty hot redhead in Rolo’s living room during a party, listening to her as she talked about her trip to England last year that somehow ended up in her almost missing her flight back to Washington.

To be honest, Lance was having a great time. He was sitting there laughing and talking to the first decent person in what seemed like ages, and he didn’t mind going home with her once the party was over. Hardly anything aside from how he was thoroughly enjoying himself seemed to cross his mind until he noticed her empty cup.

“Hey, you want me to get you another drink?”

She looked down, smiled at him sweetly. “Nah, I’m good.”

“Be right back then, I’ll just go get something from the kitchen.”

He flashed her what he hoped was a pretty suave grin and turned to start making his way into the kitchen, hearing her laugh behind him. “I’m not going anywhere!”

Lance was about to take his phone out and send a quick, subtle text to Hunk to clue him on his (hopefully) future situation and why he would need their dorm. He was pretty sure he wasn’t going home alone tonight and hopefully Hunk would be a bro and do him a solid. Even as he used his height to his advantage and tried to see through the sea of drunk college students, he couldn’t find his friend anywhere. But he shrugged it off and knew that Hunk was probably somewhere with his girlfriend Shay, who they rode with to go to the party in the first place.

As his eyes scanned the interior of the room, he could tell the exact moment when his heart stopped and his vision remained glued into the sight at the front door.

_Keith._

Oh my god, what was _he_ doing here?

The Omega looked stunning as usual, tight, dark clothes and hair tied up and all. It was very reminiscent of the time they first went to the bar together and started the whole disaster. Actually, who was Lance kidding — the whole thing started the second his eyes landed on Keith in Shiro’s apartment and his dick apparently decided to take the wheel from then on.

Keith, for once, didn’t look like the confident beauty he was when he entered the bar. That night, Keith had a certain sway in his hips and a bounce in the way he walked that told Lance that he just _knew_ that he had everyone’s attention at the bar. He _knew_ how alluring and eye-catching he was, and he was ready to flaunt it.

But the Keith he was seeing seemed awkward, shy even, from the way he blatantly had difficulty navigating through the tight space of the crowd in order to get where he was going. Unbeknownst to him, he was still as magnetic as always — people were literally stopping to stare at the Omega, probably wondering (similar with how Lance had the first time they met) how one person could be so captivating.

He snapped out of his trance, though. Because he knew he had probably been standing out there for way too long and he was leaving his date (and potential partner in bed) hanging while being busy ogling at someone else. That was plain bad date etiquette and he knew that even after six shots (maybe nine, he was bad at remembering after three).

 _Whatever Keith is here for, it’s none of my business_ , Lance mentally chided himself, _I’m just one in a million of Alphas for him anyway_.

With a much faster pace in his steps, Lance turned to head to the kitchen before the Omega could catch a sight of him.

 

* * *

 

 

“You look like you could use a whole bottle.” Rolo’s slurred speech rang over the noise of the party. Lance winced while he was digging through a cooler someone brought over and glanced to see Rolo standing at his left, easily looking so far gone already after several shots of his own. He also had the said bottle on his hand, outstretched arm offering it to Lance.

“Is it _that_ obvious?”

“Hey, I won’t judge.” The guy held out his hands in a mock ‘surrender’ motion. “Everyone has their reasons for getting shitfaced.”

Lance took the bottle and nodded. “Thanks.”

Just when he was deciding to get out of there and back into the living room — _god damn_ , what did he have to go there for again? He was wrecking his head trying to remember but his intoxicated mind certainly wasn’t providing easy answers — he remembered that Rolo had probably been around the house so he probably got a hint of who’s in his party.

“Hey, did Shiro come by tonight?”

Because, that was it, right? Keith was probably only coming because Shiro was. Would Shiro even _let_ him go to a party without him standing as a bodyguard? Wait- why was he even still thinking of Keith when he was trying to remember why he had to return to the living room?

Rolo blinked. “Don’t think so. Haven’t seen him. Why?”

“Well, I just saw his brother a few minutes ago and-”

“Shiro’s brother? The Omega?” a voice came from somewhere behind him. Lance turned to see a guy he recognized from one of his pre-calculus classes, though his drunken mind had failed to offer him a name to go along with his face.

He already looked incredibly drunk, probably matching Rolo’s level. He took one of the stools in the kitchen counter and plopped himself down, along with a couple of who Lance guessed was his friends. “What, are you his new Alpha this week?”

Lance’s blue eyes nervously flitted over to Rolo, who now stood in the corner idly, watching them curiously. Lance often had a good sense of when he was ending up with a bad crowd of Alphas, partly because of his experiences in his all-Alpha school as a kid and partly because it was just something his parents always told him to watch out for. He didn’t like the kind of air the group held, but he couldn’t really find a way to evade the situation at the moment anyway.

“Uh… no? I guess not.”

But the guy hadn’t even seemed to process Lance’s answer, he just went straight to another question. “God, he showed up here? It’s probably to find another Alpha to latch unto.” The group’s boisterous laughter bellowed throughout the kitchen. “Tell him to come over here. I haven’t had seen him in a while and I wanna have a good time tonight.”

Lance’s eyebrows twitched slightly, probably showing them that he was a little bit more uncomfortable about the topic than they assumed. One of them caught on and smirked knowingly. “Don’t worry, no one’s stealing him from you. I’m pretty every Alpha in the campus is sharing him at this point. Shirogane doesn’t even have a clue.”

The last part set him off, maybe because it was aimed at Shiro. And Lance knew he’d done questionable things to still call himself Shiro’s friend, but he still didn’t take well to anyone who insulted someone who clearly didn’t earn it.

But, if there was one thing Lance knew (even when he was _not_ sober), it was that this wasn’t the time or place to pick a fight. And certainly not with Alphas who all towered over him and probably still had back up somewhere in the house.

Lance looked back at the drink in his hand and glanced at Rolo, not bothering to address the rest of the group. “Thanks for the drink. I’m gonna go back inside.”

He tried to ignore the voices calling out to him from the kitchen, all still drowning under the sound of endless, mocking laughter. “Tell your _friend_ I missed him, he probably misses me too!”

Instead of heading towards the living room like he’d originally planned, Lance ventured back into the crowd to try to find any sign of Keith. Something about the way all those people talked about him didn’t sit right with Lance, something about the way they kept confirming exactly what Lance was thinking.

He wasn’t the only Alpha who caught Keith’s attention, and he certainly won’t be the last.

Lance searched rooms and halls inside the house until the crowd eventually thinned and he realized that most people had already gone home or passed out in the front yard at that point. He had no clue where Hunk was, where Shay was, or where Keith was. He just knew that the drowsiness having a major pull on him and he had a harder time focusing on trying to find the Omega.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. “Keith?”

“Nah, buddy. It’s just me.” Hunk’s face appeared in his blurry vision, and Lance’s shoulders visibly dropped in disappointment. “Let’s get you home.”

Deciding Keith had probably already gone home (either by himself or with someone else, he didn’t want to think about it), Lance nodded and obediently followed Hunk out of the house. He would later recall being carried into the backseat of a car and driven home safely, only occasionally waking at the memory of Keith entering the front door of Rolo’s house looking so out-of-place in the chaos of the party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been freaking out (and pretty much inactive) since Monday because GUESS WHO IS FINALLY GOING TO ART SCHOOL. So yeah, long story short, I got my results and celebrated because I got in my dream school, that's why I was super late on updating my Tumblr (which you should check out btw) and this story.
> 
> Also, regarding Keith's reputation around the campus, I'll touch on that in the later chapters but rest assured that not all of what they're saying about him is true.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had a total of 0% alcohol intake in my body while writing this so it might come off a bit messy
> 
> Also, Keith-centric chapter because I love him.

Keith announced his arrival by plopping eight heavy textbooks on the bleachers next to Lotor and settling beside him like he owned the place.

Before he had even seen him, the Alpha had already noticed his friend coming his way anyway — definitely not missing the way that the football players in front of him momentarily halted one by one to trail after the sight of such an Omega with their eyes.

If there was one thing Lotor knew about Keith, it was that he was breathtakingly beautiful in a way others often weren’t, with his raven hair, pale skin, and piercing gaze. Whether he knew it or not (or cared, for that matter), Keith was bound to turn heads whenever he walked into a room. If not by his physical appearance alone, then by the by the blazing fire inside him that refused to be put out and made him stick out from the crowd of distasteful, faceless people Lotor has had the displeasure of encountering in his lifetime again and again.

Lotor himself was far from interested (has given up a long time ago, even), but he was sure that he is still considered lucky by most to be spending so much time with the famous heartbreaker. And he could understand. Somewhat.

“How is my favorite Omega fairing?” Lotor innocently looked up from the rigorous training sequence he was watching. “Shame, no one to carry your books for you today?”

Keith pouts and leans back into the bleachers to watch with him. “Shut up, I can carry my own books any day.” The football team was doing laps in front of him, all of them determined and letting their challenging spirit run free (most likely in the presence of Keith, knowing his reputation) but doing little to catch the Omega’s interest.

“I’m simply saying that it’s a privilege I would not be opposed to using, given your position.” Lotor rolled his eyes as he went on. “You know, you could ask one of the people in the lacrosse team. Some of them have been spreading rumors.”

“What kind?”

“The usual: a couple of blowjobs in the locker room, groping here and there, one swore you even let them fuck you after training.”

Keith laughed a bit but his nose scrunched in blatant disgust. “I don’t even _like_ the lacrosse team. Or lacrosse. No idea what the sport’s about.”

“I prefer football.” Lotor’s eyes twinkled at the sight before him. Keith laughed even more and swatted him playfully.

The training went on and they shared a lazy conversation as the sun continued to go down. Keith told some stories about his Chemistry II class, talked a little about Shiro (Lotor jokingly ‘ _ooh_ ’ed, just because Keith always seemed baffled whenever anybody showed interest in his brother in spite of him being a literal gift from god, in Lotor’s opinion). Lotor leaned back as he listened, content with slipping in a few comments here and there whenever he felt necessary but mostly letting Keith do the talking (which, considering that it was Keith, wasn’t much anyway).

“I’m afraid I’ll be attending a party later at your friend Rolo's house.” Lotor replied when Keith asked him about getting drinks afterwards. “You can accompany me, but you will be reduced to my designated chauffeur. Or, well, one of your ‘victims’ will be.”

He tried to lighten the mood by joking, but he could already tell that Keith wasn’t pleased. The Omega let out an irritated scoff at Lotor’s unrelenting drive for partying, which even _he_ found difficult to comprehend sometimes.

Although Keith liked to think he had the leverage to get by most social interactions with others — and he _did_ , often — Lotor knew that his friend was still unbearably introverted. Which was why, from the Alphas and Betas (if he were pushing his gambles, probably fellow Omega as well) Keith had stringed along in the university and wrapped around his little finger, Keith still remained by himself during most of the day.

It earned him a title of being somewhat of an untouchable Omega. _Desired by all but hardly even sparing others more than a second glance_ , Lotor once heard a Beta in the study hall recite poetically. Some would even call his personality cold. Taking out his own brother (who already has his hands full with schoolwork and football) and Lotor, he sometimes forgot that Keith practically had no one else to talk to in the campus.

“Whatever. I met a cute librarian who gave me a pass to the private collection in the Harrison Library. So I’ll just hang out there.”

“What did you do?”

“Just mostly flirting. He gave it right away. Must be new to the job.” The Omega shrugged nonchalantly, but he still seemed incredibly proud of himself. “Now I can read the limited edition of a book I’ve been eyeing.”

Lotor chuckled at that. It was a Friday night and the most popular Omega in campus was going to spend the night in the library.

“Aw, daddy Shiro gone for the night?”

“Ew. Stop it.”

 

* * *

 

 

Keith didn’t have the best sense of smell, but he could practically feel the guy behind him taking casual strides but never walking too fast so as not to walk past him. He didn’t have Lotor with him, because he was probably still at that stupid party. He didn’t have Lotor, which meant he was just an Omega walking home alone.

He left the library just a few minutes ago, deciding to pack his things and call it a night when the lights were beginning to dim in most sections. When he stepped outside, he was greeted by the cold night with hardly more than a thin jacket to keep him warm as he began his trek home.

“Hey, are you lost?” The stranger finally caught up to him, offering him a friendly grin while he walked slower to match Keith's pace. He was not much bigger than Keith, but he looked like he was around his thirties. He was not well-dressed, his office clothes looked rumpled after a day’s use and his shoes were already caked in dirt.

Keith wasn’t being scared, he was just being cautious. Worse things have happened to Omegas more capable than him in the dead of night. He thought back at Shiro and wondered why tonight of all nights did his brother have to be staying late for a paper instead of walking home with him.

He tried to smile back, albeit a bit dry and not at all genuine. “Just going over to a friend’s.”

Keith willed himself to take bigger steps. He could probably outrun this Alpha any day, but putting enough distance between them by walking seemed good enough for now. Surely, he’ll get the hint.

The man matched his steps until they were walking side-by-side again through an empty road dimly lit by street lamps. Keith grasped his phone on one hand, his eyes slowly darting through the dark spaces to find any other source of life. His mind raced through a million thoughts at once. _I could call Shiro, but he probably has his phone on silent. I could call Lotor, but there is no guarantee that Lotor will even be in the right state of mind to come get me_ -

“I haven’t see you around here before. What’s your name?”

“Nathan.” The lie slipped out of his mouth fast enough to call it routine. All his answers were coming out curt and uninterested. His mind was saying that he was probably jumping into conclusions too fast now, but it was muddled under the thoughts of what would happen if the man followed him home.

Stores with locked entrances surrounded the streets. It was way past average closing time for any normal business establishment and Keith was running out of options.

“Do you live around here? Where are you from?”

Keith briefly glanced at the Alpha beside him, not making any eye contact while shaking his head. From this angle, he looked so much bigger than him and too close for comfort. “No, a few states over.”

“Where?”

“I’m sorry, but I’m in a hurry.”

“No time to even answer a simple question?”

His blood was pulsing through his ears. Because it’s not a ‘simple question’, and he knows that the answer — whether it is fabricated or not — can and will be used against him. Because he knows that’s just the kind of world he lived in.

But then he catches the distant laughter and turns towards the sound, hearing the faint chattering among a group of people. Keith tried to identify them in the dark, easily recognizing the lacrosse team jerseys they wore. With no more than a quick glance towards the stranger who followed him for the past few minutes, he turned to walk towards their direction. “Those are my friends. Bye.”

Hastier than he would like to admit, Keith walked over until the group began to notice him, conversation slowing into a stop as he smoothly entered their line of vision. “You boys heading to Rolo’s party?” Keith asked as he put on his best smile.

 

* * *

 

 

He tried to hide his clear annoyance behind another fake laugh at one of their stupid jokes, while one Alpha tugged at the arm he already had around his waist. The walk to Rolo's seemed to take forever as he was subjected to their painfully simpleminded humor and rounds and rounds of less-than-innocent questions thrown his way.

"Where's Shirogane tonight?"

"Out." His violet eyes darted upwards from the sidewalk he was busy observing. He didn't miss the knowing smiles that had brought to their faces. He didn't blame them, of course, because any other day and he'd probably already be dragging one of them home with him, taking advantage of Shiro's absence to make the night worthwhile. But it was late and he was not even planning on staying out this late. He wasn't even planning on going to Rolo's party.

The topic was discarded soon after it was brought up, though. To them, the night was still young and had plenty of opportunities, they ought not to waste it on one Omega.

Just before they reached the front lawn of Rolo's impressive-looking home, Keith's phone violently vibrated in his pocket, making him jump in surprise. When he pulled it out, Shiro's face flashed in the caller ID and he felt the Alpha's arm slowly slip away from his waist.

"I'll just take this. You guys can head inside." With nothing but a shrug towards him, the group turned and headed inside the house. For a second, Keith heard the chaos behind the walls until the closed front door swallowed it up again.

"Hello?"

"Keith? Are you home? I'm sorry I'm staying out so late."

Shiro already sounded like he was drowning in caffeine and research papers, but his voice remained sympathetic. Keith glanced at the lit up windows behind him, trying to ignore the blaring music and rising guilt inside of him. "Yeah. I-uh just got home."

"Good. I think I won't make it back there 'til midnight, so don't wait up." His brother continued, sounding like his usual protective self, "Have you had dinner yet?"

"Yeah. I'm about to head to bed soon."

"Is that music?"

"Someone's having a party a few blocks over. Must be that." Keith's mind helpfully supplied, not missing a single beat in the years of practice he's had.

After a few more minutes of reporting everything from what time he left campus (again, a lie) to what his exact coordinates were (he meant it jokingly anyway), his brother dismissed it and cut the conversation short with a hasty 'bye' to get back to his work. Keith stared at the blank screen on his hand, contemplating actually heading home just as he told Shiro he had hours before.

Lying to his brother wasn't fun sometimes, sure, and he should probably stop — but there were just things he knew Shiro would never understand about living as an Omega. There were the bad sides, but there were also the good sides. If he came clean to Shiro, he knew his brother would take both away, not being able to tell the bad from good.

Stuffing his phone deep into his pocket, Keith walked through the front door and entered the party.

People kept throwing glances his way as he pushed through the crowd, not quite sure who he was looking for. Probably Lotor, since he said he would be here. And now, he might as well look for someone he knew to wait out the lousy party.

After a quick round of asking around and briefly searching the rooms in the first floor, Keith entered the kitchen exhausted and clearly in need of a drink. He wasn't really planning on drinking that night, didn't really want to go home drunk, but he figured he might as well partake in a little bit while someone else was providing the alcohol anyway.

" _There's_ our boy!"

The Omega turned to see a familiar group approaching him. It was the guy from the football team, he was somewhat friends with Lotor, but mostly avoided Shiro. Even Lotor didn't actually like him, often insulting him behind his back and giggling at the army of goons he always carried with him. Which was why he sneered when Keith told him he's slept with him once, only after a party much like the one he was currently in and with a lot more alcohol in his system.

"Looking for something, Williams?" Keith couldn't help but slyly address him by his last name. It had been the name he used the entire night as they talked during that party, even up until Keith was pulling him into one of the empty rooms and riding the night away. Probably inappropriate, but he wanted as much leverage over the Alpha as possible.

The football player just chuckled at his antics, slowly taking a seat beside him and taking too much of his personal space. "Just thought you'd entertain the boys and I for a while. Missed you, babe."

"Don't call me that." Keith sent him a playful grin, but quickly resumed searching the room for his friend. "I'm just looking for someone."

"Aw, replaced me already?" A large arm curled around his body before he could stand up, pulling him to practically sit on the football player's lap. "And here I thought that was the best night of your life."

He wanted to roll his eyes and snort. _No, it wasn't_ , Keith thought, _you finished way too early and almost puked on my face_. He also recalled the way the guy spared little to no time preparing him like an eager puppy, briskly trying to fuck even when he wasn't stretched enough for it to not hurt.

"I think I'm gonna go upstairs to look for him."

The guy's hands traced his thighs underneath the fabric of his jeans in a way that was nowhere close to subtle. Keith's temper then flared up and his face visually reddened. He was not at all opposed to broadcasting how active his sex life was usually, but he still drew a line and he knew that there was at least still a sliver of his pride worth defending when it came to this crowd.

"Shy, babe? Shouldn't be that different than what you're used to, right?" He could feel the smile forming as the Alpha's breath tickled his ear. Keith had slapped his hand away in a very clear message.

"Fuck off, Williams."

The jock's laugh thundered throughout the room, his chest shaking. "Told you this one has an attitude."

Keith probably growled at the sound of that, hated being reduced to nothing more than a spectacle among a group of unfriendly Alphas and Betas.

Then Rolo appeared in front of them, coughing awkwardly to try to get the group's attention. "Hey, Keith. I think Lotor needs your help in the bathroom."

Providing the momentary distraction he needed, Keith quickly hopped out of the Alpha's lap and positioned himself next to Rolo. "Sure, lead the way."

He ignored the voices calling to him from the back, fists clenched as he walked out of the kitchen stiffly. Rolo, who was in front of him taking lazy steps like he was not at all in a hurry, seemed to not have noticed. Or, at least, pretended not to notice for Keith's sake.

Once they faced a bathroom door that matched so many he's seen around the house (and probably one he would've continued to overlooked had Rolo not lead him there), Keith cautiously knocked on the door only to find it left open. He heard the lurching from inside and could already sniff out the signs of vomit.

"Lotor?" Keith opened the door to see his friend pathetically hunched over a toilet seat, his hair an absolute mess and his tired eyes boring into Keith's.

"Hello, gorgeous," Lotor joked, giving a dry laugh.

"I wish I could say the same to you," Keith deadpanned, eyes trailing over the crime scene to imagine just how wrong things had gone from what little he could pick up. Then they snapped back up to meet Lotor's blue eyes with a sigh. "Come on, let's get you home."

 

* * *

 

 

Rolo let them borrow one of his cars like it was no big deal before he headed back into his party, bidding them farewell with a few words of luck and a drunken salute. Keith took the wheel and responsibly placed Lotor at the back, putting his seat belt on and handing him a plastic bottle of water.

The drive wasn't very long, but it felt stretched into several hours because neither of them said anything. Keith kept his eyes on the dark road ahead, thinking his friend had already fallen asleep behind him when he spoke in in a soft voice, "I kissed someone a tonight."

"Really? Who?"

"An Alpha I met in the library. He pushed me away."

Keith gulped nervously, examining Lotor through the mirror and finding him sleepily leaning against the car window. His eyes were also tracing the bumps in the road like he had nothing better to do. He struggled to find something to say, knew how hard it was for Lotor but still finding it difficult to get any word out of his throat.

The Alpha beat him to it. "Said he wasn't gay and just ran out of the room. I had to run to the bathroom afterwards."

Lotor let out a humorless laugh right after. "It was an idiotic move to make in the first place. What an inconvenience this whole thing is, deciding our fate for us the moment we are born."

Keith kept his eyes on the road, hands gripped into the steering wheel as he tried not to feel the tingle of the drunk Alpha's hands on his hips just hours before. "What an inconvenience," he echoed.

 

* * *

 

 

Lotor was in no condition to return to his place, so Keith took him to his. He tidied up the sofa and borrowed some fresh sheets and pillows from Shiro's closet. Soon his friend was safely snoring in their living room, tucked asleep and probably promised a raging hangover in the morning. It would be another day's problem.

Keith had let out an exhausted breath when he finished, going over into their kitchen to fetch a glass of water for Lotor. What he hadn't expected was to see Shiro in his pajamas on one of the chairs, barely-contained rage clear in his face.

"Taka-"

"What time is it?"

"I can explain."

" _What time is it_?" He raised his voice, standing up to tower over his little brother. Keith was afraid Lotor would wake up from the sound.

"I'm sorry, okay? I was at this party, and I found Lotor-"

"You _worried_ me, Keith! I came home to an empty home at two am and I had no clue where my brother was! My _brother_ who told me three hours ago he' be heading to bed!" Shiro's hand came to run through his hair in frustration, eyes scrunched shut. "Do you realize how dangerous it is for someone like _you_ to be out at this hour? Without even _telling_ me?"

Keith stared at him. _Of course, I know_.

"I'm sorry, but Lotor really needed help," he said weakly after a long pause, his voice cracking. "He's sleeping on the couch right now because he can't get home on his own. I'll pay for the consequences in the morning. Right now, I just wanna get him a glass of water."

His brother's eyes met his again, the exhaustion and worry palpable behind him. He sighed and his shoulders dropped. "Keith, you can't keep doing this. The world doesn't work perfectly, so you can't keep risking your safety for other people."

"I know."

All the anger had left Shiro's body, he was just fatigue and sleepiness then. Maybe a little disappointment. Shiro's disappointment was always worse than his anger, it made Keith chest feel heavy with shame.

"Leave a bucket out for him too. And make sure he stays on the couch," Shiro said while he walked past Keith to go back to his bedroom.

Keith swallowed his guilt and managed a quiet, "Good night, Takashi."

Shiro mumbled a quiet 'good night' back.

Then Keith turned around to get back to work. He took an empty glass from the cupboards and filled it with water. For what felt like the first time that night, he was left to his own comfortable silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't go @ me with the dynamics of Alpha-Alpha romance, I just know that it's gotta work even somewhere out there in omegaverse. Also I read this story once where the character's best friend was shunned for the same thing so here you go, my crappy remake of it. Can't proof-read because I'm sleepy, will edit later.
> 
> (Enjoy the drama, hoes. Come yell at me on Tumblr)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's (post-)Valentine's so have some smut. No time to beta, because it's Chinese New Year and I'm busy shoving food down my throat. Also (unfortunately and untimely) no alcohol. Damn it.

“Rise and shine, buddy.”

Every part of his body felt awful. His throat was a desert; it felt so dry he was almost certain that was what it felt to go without water for a year and survive. His limbs felt heavy and uncomfortable. To top it off, he was wearing the same clothes from the night before, except they were wrinkled and sweat-stained.

When he opened his eyes, every color that made its way through the curtains of his bedroom window stabbed his retinas.

“I feel like shit.”

His best friend hummed in understanding, not seeming to have problems of his own even though both of them were in a party the night before. Then again, he supposed Hunk had taken the position of ‘ _The Responsible One_ ’ (a mantle he's held with pride ever since meeting Lance) and had forgone alcohol last night for his sake.

Lance gave up on trying to adjust to the light in his bedroom and just threw an arm over his eyes. He registered the hollow sound of a mug being placed on the table to his right before Hunk’s gentle footsteps echoed, walking around the room. From what little his arm covered and the addicting smell that instantly surrounded his bed, he could guess Hunk did the good friend thing and prepared a cup of coffee for him already (best way to start a day with a hangover, in his opinion, since Hunk made the best coffee, made the best _everything_ ).

“What time is it?” he croaked after a while.

“Around one pm. We got home at three am last night.”

Hunk just giggled as he watched Lance groan and weakly turn the other way. It was past noon and Lance was certain he had to get up to do shit soon, but his raging headache hardly gave him any other option but lie in bed and wallow in lousiness.

Turned away from the source of light, it was easier to come to his senses. Slowly, he felt his brain trying to recollect itself from the events of last night, no doubt giving him a bitch of hangover only because he probably drank more than he was supposed to. As his eyes focused on the scratched up walls of their tiny dorm, memories of what he did the night before slowly started replaying in his mind like a shitty presentation.

“I was talking to someone last night. ‘was hot,” Lance mumbled. Hunk just hummed to indicate he was listening.

“Probably would’ve gone home with her if it wasn’t for…“ He idly began scratching his nails against the wall, adding to the ‘decorations’ the room’s acquired from the years of use. “Keith.”

Hunk was silent for a while, contemplating. But the sound of him working on his laptop in the background didn’t cease, so maybe he wasn’t paying that much attention to it. Not that it was starting to become a problem, because Lance was certain that it was just a healthy case of college-age Alpha horniness. Maybe his rut was coming up.

And it didn’t help that Keith just so happened to be everything he looked for a partner physically. Upon meeting him, Lance knew that he was instantly checking every item on his mental checklist, crumpling up the paper, burning it in the fire because his brain took one look at the Omega and decided, _well, this is it, this is the one, every other path to lead to a normal life will immediately be sabotaged in favor of the one where we try to get into his pants_.

Then he thinks about Keith’s reputation, the words he heard from the Alphas in Rolo’s kitchen just the night before. He wasn’t going to pretend that the word ‘needy’ didn’t once cross his mind ever since Keith’s true colors were revealed to him — and the first time it did, it was kind of in a weird, kinky way. But now he thought about the bigger picture and came across people Keith’s allegedly slept with before and they seem to think of it in a completely different way.

Almost as if his ‘neediness’ was some sort of joke that the entire campus was in on.

Pidge’s advice echo in his mind, about Keith being ‘ _not worth chasing after_ ’ or something. Suddenly it came to him that maybe it wasn’t only people who _didn’t_ know Keith beyond the bedroom who thought of him that way, that maybe others he could call his friends saw him that way as well. He knew Keith was bad news, the universe seemed hellbent on repeating it to him over and over again. But he can’t seem to stop himself.

“What happened last night anyway?”

“I didn’t talk to him at all, if that’s what you’re worried about.” Lance threw Hunk a brief reassuring glance. “I just saw him walk in. And… nothing. I _wanted_ to talk to him. Or, at least, ask him what the hell’s got him looking so worried last night.”

“Are you interested in him?” Hunk’s concerned tone was not hidden at all, even if he probably planned to come off as innocently curious.

“No, I don’t think so. Maybe I’m just wondering why he’s doing all this.”

“All what?”

“I don’t know, people keep talking about him being kinda… you know, _adventurous_? Jumping from Alpha to Alpha? Betas and Omegas somewhere there too, probably.” Lance thought back at the ones from Rolo’s kitchen, how they all seemed too eager to share just what kind of interactions they’ve shared with the infamous Omega before. “I guess I just don’t want Shiro to have to worry about all that.”

“There’s always his side of the story. I mean, I doubt all of the rumors actually say anything about his personality… or his reasons,” Hunk argued, the ever-present understanding side of him showing. Lance didn’t know how he did it, saw the good side in everyone. Whatever his secret was, Lance was going to have to take it to heart, because he had absolutely no progress in attempting to understand Keith.

The other Alpha sighed and started pushing himself up. “I know. Hopefully this is just the start of a series of hook-ups. I think my rut is coming soon.”

He faced Hunk just in time to see his best friend grimace at the statement. The downside to having another Alpha as a roommate was that ruts were the unspeakable moments. Everything was awkward and your roommate, even if he was your best bro, had to be subjected to the knowledge that you are locking yourself up in your room because your libido and horniness suddenly shoot up to a hundred. At least with Betas, they wouldn’t mind much because they would be immune to the intense scent of an Alpha’s burning desperation.

Thankfully, ruts were less regulated than Omega’s heats and tended to come and go (some Alphas went years without a rut). But Lance still couldn’t help but question the universe every time his came up. He almost died of embarrassment from the last two ruts he’s had since becoming Hunk’s roommate. And Hunk couldn’t stand the times he’s had his in their shared dorm as well.

“Good. Shay’s roommate is on leave for the entire month and I’m staying at her dorm if that’s the case.” The look of disgust quickly slipped off and he pointed to the now lukewarm cup of coffee he diligently set down next to Lance, “Drink your coffee so that you can shower, dude. You missed lunch but Shay’s cooking Italian for dinner and she has a new recipe planned.”

Lance perked up at the unsaid invitation to eat with them (that he’s all too familiar with already because Shay loved having him over). In all the times that Lance was invited over to Shay’s or was _bestowed_ the honor of eating her meals, he’s never been disappointed. He’d pity Hunk for all the missed alone-time they could be having, but Hunk doesn’t seem to mind because they had plenty of other date options that didn’t include Lance and just watching Shay become elated whenever they complimented her meals (Lance is a great complimenter, and it’s a plus that he can’t ever seem to find anything wrong with Shay’s cooking) is good enough for him.

Hunk also claims that preparation and cleaning up bit was great bonding time for them anyway, and sometimes he helped her try out recipes together. He supposed it’s to be expected from two people that both come from a family of connoisseurs.

“Hope you guys don’t mind me crashing your date then.”

 

* * *

 

 

They were planning to walk there, or at least commute, since they figured that Shay’s place wasn’t that far off (right next to the Liberal Arts main building). Lance knew that that was also the route to Shiro’s apartment, which would mean that they had the probability of seeing Keith, but he ruled that out since he didn’t even know if they were out or not.

Of course, given his luck, they happened to pass Shiro’s street right when he was pulling up on the driveway.

They were also out to get dinner; Shiro just came back from an appointment and was on his way to a formal party. He explained that Keith was inside getting ready and they were just dropping a friend of Keith’s off before heading to the venue.

When Lotor stepped out of the door, Lance blinked in surprise. Probably because he expected Lotor to be another one of Keith’s casual hook-ups as well, someone he would never bother to introduce to his brother. He was also wondering what Lotor’s presence alone in the apartment with Keith meant since Shiro mentioned he was gone all afternoon.

Even weirder, the Alpha that endlessly irritated Lance on their first meeting was strangely stern and withdrawn while Hunk told Shiro about going over to Shay’s for dinner. He didn’t comment on anything, there were no lengthy stories projecting his prowess in ‘football’, he barely even acknowledged them at all.

He didn’t have time to dwell on it much when Shiro’s brother stepped outside and locked the front door behind him. As always, Lance zeroed in on Keith the moment he came into sight. He was in a fitted dark suit that accentuated his figure in all the right places, leaving Lance practically drooling if it weren’t for the fact that he still was a bit put-off by their last encounter (well, one-sided encounter, if that was even possible) and Shiro was immediately walking towards him to fix his red tie.

Nevertheless, it went without saying that Keith still looked unforgivably stunning. It was a shame he wasn’t meeting Lance’s eyes, but he figured it was either because of Shiro’s presence or Lotor’s (or both of them, probably).

Shiro good-naturedly offered them a ride, since Shay’s apartment was just along the way and they had plenty of space. Soon, they were all climbing into the car and Lance found himself squeezed next to Keith.

The entire car ride was awkward.

Lotor had decided to sit shotgun with Shiro next to him, driving. Which meant Keith was against the window and Lance was in between him and Hunk. Everyone was literally acting completely different than how they usually did.

Keith was so close, their knees almost touched and he could sense the ghost of the feeling of being pressed close to his body, as they had been just weeks before when they were left alone in the apartment. But he didn’t say a word to him.

And, although it wasn’t like he was expecting Keith to suddenly go misty-eyed at the sight of him since they only really had one real hook-up (one and a half if he counted the whole bar incident), he also wasn’t expecting Keith to flat out ignore him. He was acting completely uninterested, only sparing concerned glances at Shiro and Lotor every once in a while.

At first, Lance thought it had something to do with how Keith played ‘hard-to-get’ with him the last time they ate together (which also coincidentally involved Lotor), but Lotor himself didn’t seem to want to play along this time. He looked like he was spacing out in his own far corner, faced almost pressed into the window next to him with eyes trained anywhere but the other people in the car with him.

By now, Shiro should also be talking about anything and everything, he was a pretty chatty guy once you got to know him. If not, he’d be asking about their days, politely piping in with some comments, and acting genuinely interested in their lives. But he was strangely clammed up as well. When Lance looked up at the rear-view mirror, he saw a stormy, clouded look in Shiro’s eyes that clearly stated his mind was elsewhere at the moment.

And he _could_ be reading too much into it, the peculiar atmosphere in the air could all be in his imagination. Maybe Shiro just wanted to savor the moment of silence. But Lance got the feeling that Shiro being quiet involved less calmness and more anger.

 _Maybe he caught Keith and Lotor together_ , the thought popped up in his head, _so, are they dating now?_

It explained the way Keith kept glancing back at Lotor, and Lotor's could easily be explained to be the result of guilt at having been caught. He couldn’t tell.

“It’s too bad you guys can’t stay for dinner. Shay makes the best pasta,” Hunk piped in the midst of the silence. Lance waited for someone to take the bait and get the conversation rolling, hopefully letting the awkward silence die out — but neither Keith nor Lotor seemed interested with playing civil at the moment.

Before he could chime in with a few words, Shiro surprisingly let out a chuckle from the front but didn’t face them. “Yeah, her brother, Rax Balmera, is also pretty good. Shame I have to miss pure Balmera cooking just for a party I don’t want to go to.”

“It might be fun. I mean, you should relax more, man. I know the thesis isn’t going to write itself but a few breaks every now and then wouldn’t hurt,” Lance added with what he hoped was an encouraging tone, gulping in anticipation for Shiro’s answer. It wasn't often that Shiro let a negative thought slip by, so it was worrying when he did. Somehow, it made Lance want to make him feel better.

Not long after, Shiro turned around and gave him a sincere half-smile at his thoughtfulness. “Yeah, you’re right, Lance.”

Lance smiled back and noticed Keith turn to watch their interaction before averting his attention back to the view outside. “I don’t know how you do it, though, Shiro. The workload sucks this term and I’m only an undergrad.”

Shiro chuckled again, seeming a little bit more of his usual lively self. “I’m sure you’ll get used to it soo-”

“You can drop me off here.”

Everyone in the car turned towards Lotor, who was sitting up like he had never been the slumping, brooding mess he was when they first got in. “My place isn’t that far off.”

“Are you sure?” It was Keith that asked that time, his wide eyes a little too concerned as he stared at Lotor. Lance resisted the urge to keep his eyes trained on Keith after he spoke, realizing it was the first time that night he’s heard the Omega’s voice.

“What about dinner?” Hunk inquired, but Shiro was already complying and slowing down the car at one corner.

“I can get it somewhere else.”

The vehicle came to a halt and Lotor was out not a moment later, slamming the car door shut behind him without so much of a glance towards them or a ‘goodbye’.

“Is… something bothering him?”

Lance watched as Keith’s eyes simply went back from watching Lotor’s retreating figure to the roads. He left him unanswered.

Hunk noticed the tension and tried to move the practically non-existent conversation to something, talking about Shay’s recent acceptance to a summer job abroad, and how their planning to maintain a long distance relationship. Their casual talk drowned into background noise as Lance took in how preoccupied Keith was in fiddling with his sleeves.

“Is it too long?”

“Huh?”

“The sleeves.” Finding no better way to respond, Lance pointed at the suit’s sleeves that seemed to be the only thing keeping Keith from looking like a literal god. Keith’s dark eyes were full on staring at him now, not like they had been the rest of the ride, raising a questioning brow at him.

“Yeah, it’s borrowed.”

“I can help you fold it in.”

“It’ll look ridiculous.”

“So, is that a no…?”

Lance knew it was playful flirting, it was dangerous territory with Shiro sitting inside the car with them. He prayed that Shiro mistook it for a friendly gesture. Yup, just him helping Shiro’s brother out with his clothes. Hopefully it would distract him from the thought of Lance actually wanting to help Keith _out_ of his clothes.

Keith let out an amused snort and raised one sleeve up for Lance to fix, the latter expertly folding it in to be hidden from view (but still rather obvious if you look at it long enough). Lance did the other one as well, and, when he finished, Keith was just looking at him strangely. He didn’t know if the Omega purposely dragged his fingers across his thigh before dropping the hand to his own lap, Keith just seemed proud of himself.

 

* * *

 

 

“Takashi, I don’t think I’m feeling well.” Keith suddenly spoke when they were a couple blocks away from Shay’s apartment. Lance threw a short glance at Keith, noting his obvious change in demeanor from quiet and sulking to the underlying confident beauty he was when they first met. Not to mention, the Omega was using a tone that he used when he wanted to get something.

Lance saw Shiro furrow his eyebrows in worry. “Do you want to turn around? I can drop you off back home.”

“Or he can have dinner with us.” Lance had to prevent his hand from shooting up and covering his mouth immediately after, even though it was what he wanted to do. He hadn’t planned on making the thought leave his mind, but it had slipped out and Shiro already looked like he was pondering on it.

“Well, I guess if it’s okay with Shay.” Keith’s eyes already twinkled in victory.

 

* * *

 

 

Shay absolutely loved Keith, who was uncharacteristically (or, well, uncharacteristic given how _Lance_ has seen him behave before) shy at first but soon learned to open up after his second plate of food. He complimented like a champ, undoubtedly almost beating Lance in his spot of _Shay’s Favorite Next To Hunk_. And Lance would’ve been amused if it weren’t for the fact that that would mean he’d be reduced to _Shay’s Favorite Next To Hunk and Keith_.

Knowing where Shay kept her beer (even if she wasn’t that fond of drinking, it was mostly for visitors), Lance quickly brought it out afterwards, with her permission. They spent the rest of the night downing bottle after bottle while a Netflix movie played in Shay’s laptop.

Keith kept leaning into Lance the entire time, the same way Shay and Hunk were leaning into each other. Good thing they were, cause they otherwise would have been able to notice how Keith’s fingers kept finding themselves just inches away from Lance’s danger-zone. Which would be perfectly okay if they were alone and not in Shay’s apartment with two other people.

When it got too late, Keith faked a yawn and said something about feeling tired. Shay called in an Uber for them because she didn’t want them to have to find their way back home in the dark, so Lance thanked her and Keith politely echoed his statements, with a few more remarks about how good the food’s been.

Hunk had given Lance a long and hard stare when he suggested he take Keith home since it was getting late. By then, Hunk was fully aware of the risks Lance was taking with the Omega (well, maybe not _all_ of it) and was probably trying to mentally advise him against it. But the word was done and Hunk just later on said something about spending the night at Shay’s instead.

Both of them rushed inside the car with little fanfare, giving Keith the chance to immediately press up against Lance. With the driver right in front of them, they had little opportunity to do anything, but that didn’t stop Keith’s wandering hands.

Lance paid the driver and opened the lock to his dorm in a flash, finding himself pushed to the wall right after he shut the door behind them.

“Easy, kitten.”

Keith pouted at the nickname for a while, and Lance wiped it clean off with a hot open-mouthed kiss. The Omega let him tip his head back slightly, Lance’s hand finding its way behind Keith’s neck, but he responded with equal fervor and intensity. It left them both panting when they pulled apart, gulping in large breaths of air.

They ended up stumbling their way to Lance’s bed not a second later. The suit was quickly thrown aside without regard (they would probably regret that in the morning, then again, they’d probably regret a _lot_ in the morning) and Lance was pushing Keith to the sheets, ripping open a condom packet, grabbing a bottle of lube from his bedside drawer. Everything became a blur of skin and sweat, too many hands all at once and Keith’s sinful tongue dragging down his throat.

Maybe it was because of the alcohol, but the entire world stopped around them. All that mattered was watching Keith gasp as he bottomed out in the Omega. The movements soon turned into deep thrusts and clenching fingers.

“F- _fuck_!” The raven moaned and tilted his head to the side. Immediately, Lance’s senses were filled with the smell of an unmated Omega and all he wanted to do was bite _down_ and finally mark up that pretty neck of his. The Omega pushed back in time with his thrusts and demanded in a breathy voice, “Do that again, ‘felt so good...”

Lance tightened the grip he had on Keith’s hips, watching the contrast of his hands on Keith's deliciously pale skin. From here, he could see the expanse of unmarred skin on Keith’s back, could easily mark him up as if he was his Omega.

“Harder!”

Jesus, Keith was demanding in bed. And he tried not to think about how much it both challenged and aroused his Alpha side (lest he finish too soon) — instead placing one hand on the wooden headboard in front of him, angling his thrusts deeper into the Omega. The bed was creaking from the motion and he was certain they were alerting the entire floor what exactly was transpiring in the confines of the room.

The reaction was instantaneous. Keith threw his head back and screamed, “Oh g-god!”

The Alpha tried to give a confident smirk despite how much Keith was also ruining him, trying to chuckle to sound cool but only having to choke back a moan. “Hard enough for you?”

Keith was a sight to behold, his head tilted sideways so that Lance could see part of his features. He looked so wrecked with his mouth wide open, eyes screwed shut. Lance took his time to stroke his own ego by drinking the image all in and immortalizing it in his memory. Keith looked so ruined, and Lance only had to look down and see his own cock entering his body to know Keith looked ruined because of _him_. He was the sight of a perfect Omega, but never submissive, never one to yield without a fight. Those striking eyes snapped open and Lance was met with a piercing gaze, a challenge hidden behind them.

Just from that, he could feel the coil in his stomach tightening, threatening to let loose. His could feel the base of his dick, where his knot would form, beginning to swell inside the warm walls of his Omega.

 _His_...? The stray thought slipped out before he could think of what it meant. Keith was not his Omega.

As he continued his thrusts and left Keith breathless, the Omega licked his lips and smiled at him. “Finish me, _Alpha,_ ” Keith whispered sultrily.

And if that didn't finish him off, Lance didn't know what would.

He buried his face into Keith’s shoulder and let out a loud growl, inhaling his scent hungrily. Thankfully, the Omega still had the good sense to push him off before his knot formed. “Pull out, pull out, pull out,” Keith hissed, forcing Lance’s member to slip out just before his release. He came inside the condom and just narrowly avoided knotting the Omega.

Taking a moment to regain his breath, Lance kept his eyes closed and nuzzled Keith’s scent glands. It wasn't long before he felt the Omega’s dainty fingers wrap around his own cock to jerk himself off. Lance figured he should help and used one hand to hastily join Keith's, while another trailed downwards to plunge two fingers into Keith’s over-sensitive hole.

Keith’s body flinched in surprise, his eyes momentarily fluttered open in the action. “Bastard,” the Omega muttered under his breath.

Nevertheless, he came into his hand with a barely concealed moan when Lance’s two fingers prodded his prostate. Finally spent, the Omega fell backwards into his sheets again and panted from exhaustion. Lance looked at him and his eyes traveled to down Keith's spent body.  _Not my Omega_ , he reminded himself as he carefully stepped aside once he regained feeling in his legs so the Omega could rest properly.

His mind groggy from the beer and exhaustion, Lance hastily pulled off the condom, tying it neatly, and tossing it into a bin. Keith was still panting on his bed, but he had wiped off the mess from his hands using Lance’s shirt.

Lance grimaced, but found himself not too bothered. He just curled up next to the Omega and pulled the sheets on top of them. Lance couldn’t tell if Keith was asleep or not (and his own state told him he only had a couple minutes before drowsiness took in his consciousness as well), but he was pliant in his arms and easily fit into Lance’s body like a missing puzzle piece.

He mumbled a sleepy ‘good night’ into Keith hair anyway, pulling the other’s body and feeling his own shut down before he had any time to think anything of it. He’ll blame it on the beer in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I haven't updated in a while, depression just came and bitch-slapped me in the face.
> 
> First time writing a scene like this so everyone's criticism is therefore invalid in the comments section (just kidding, come @ me with smut writing tips and kinky safe-sex procedures, I need them). And also I filled out the first sex scene checklist: (1) alcohol, (2) college dorm, (3) some quote about 'fitting perfectly together like puzzle pieces' in the afterglow part.
> 
> Planning to post two more pieces (Sheith and Keitor) over the weekend, so check out my Tumblr for updates (shameless self promotion). PS loved your reactions towards Lotor's story in the previous chapter (and basically just comments about character and scene analysis -- I love hearing your thoughts!), really wanna explore it more soon.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am officially on an alcohol ban. Forgive my shitty, sober writing. And grammatical errors.

One thing Lance wasn’t expecting so early in the morning was a text from Hunk frantically telling him he better get up and haul his ass over to Shay’s again because Shiro was on his way under the assumption that Keith had slept over in her apartment for the night.

Well, it’s not like he _wasn’t_ up upon receiving Hunk’s message. Quite the opposite actually. Keith had woken up before he did and sleepily promised him a morning blowjob, which he eagerly accepted without bothering to check the time in his phone. He was in no position to turn down half-awake morning sleaziness with a gorgeous Omega. And he was pretty _damn_ certain he would have chosen to stay in bed longer with Keith had his ringtone not chimed in and interrupted them.

“Fuck!” Lance accidentally gripped dark hair a little tighter than before when the weight of Hunk’s words finally registered to him. Keith squeaked adorably at the sound, looking up with a glare at Lance’s actions. Thankfully, they had hardly gotten started yet, but Lance's little (well, not-so-little, if he could brag) friend didn't seem to get the message, already more awake than he could be as if it wasn't working overtime last night.

Lance shot him an apologetic look before attempting to pull away, prompting the Omega to sit up and question what was wrong.

“Shiro’s heading over to Shay’s, he thinks you slept over.” Lance watched as Keith’s eyes widened comically, all the previous hunger in them forgotten. “We have five minutes to get ready and leave.”

Keith cursed under his breath and got up. “It’s Shiro and he's always early. Make that three minutes.”

Without hesitation, they both scrambled to collect their things around the room. Lance’s semi deflated almost immediately at the threat of Shiro finding out, so it was pretty easy (but still fairly uncomfortable) to fish out a pair of two-day-old shorts from the side of his bed and put it on.

When he stood to retrieve a shirt to wear, he noticed Keith’s slight limp as he redressed himself. Trying to tone down his cockiness as much as possible, Lance eyed the Omega’s difficulty and questioned in a smug voice, “Having a hard time walking?”

His smirk was met with a playful glare. “Fuck off.”

Lance laughed. “Come on, it’d be easier to just admit that you got fucked _so_ good last night you can barely walk.”

Keith’s mouth turned down into a pout and he huffed in annoyance, which Lance expected was the end of it. Until Keith strode up to him and those lingering touches were on him again. “Yeah, last night was good... surprising, even. You were better than I imagined.”

Lance’s brain went on overdrive so fast it probably left permanent damage, especially since it was so early in the morning. At the thought of Keith imagining them fucking... at the thought of Keith imagining _anything_ with him at all. His thoughts wandered to dangerous places. Lance wondered how many times the Omega indulged in thoughts of those fantasies. Wondered if Keith ever lied in bed late at night, fingering himself open at the thought of Lance and drowning out his sweet moans by biting into the sheets.

When Lance dared to look down, he found himself staring into Keith’s hooded eyes that were piercing right into his soul as pale fingers dipped down to trace his bare chest. A teasing half-smirk caught his eyes, and Keith’s red lips, which were still swollen from last night, curled up in amusement.

“But I’ve had better.”

With that, he grabbed the t-shirt in Lance’s hand and turned away to change inside his bathroom. Lance hadn’t noticed that his boner had come to life again after the act — spurred on by Keith’s touches and undeniably seeking more — until the sounds of the door shutting and the lock clicking registered in his ears.

 _Fucking fantastic_ , he sighed, swearing that the thin bathroom door did nothing to hide the devious giggles from a barely dressed Keith.

 

* * *

 

 

They got there a little later than planned. Lance let out a series of ‘ _fuck, shit, oh my God_ ’s when they saw Shiro’s cursed car already parked in front. His body was mentally preparing him for a scenario where he’d have to face Shiro and finally pay for everything he’s done – every fantasy, every bit of hunger, every guilty night spent occupied with himself and his hands and the thought of Keith.

But Keith had seen his brain shutting down amidst the chaos and pulled him back. Like, literally pulled him back before he rang the doorbell and prepared to fall to his knees to complete the whole atonement process when Shiro inevitably swung it open.

“I’ve got a plan, so just shut up and follow my lead okay?” Once again, Keith’s dark eyes were filled with determination and directed at him, except the intentions they held behind them went far beyond those of last night’s.

“You sure about that?”

Keith rolled his eyes, not quite answering his question with, “Just follow my lead.”

To their luck, it’s Shay who answers the door when Keith stepped in front of Lance and finally rang the doorbell. Her eyes shone with genuine glee, as they usually did when Shay met anyone, but still held a silent plea, revealing just how severe their situation was. Hunk and Shay no doubt had a hard time trying to keep Shiro’s questions about Keith’s disappearance at bay, especially when both weren’t really considered excellent liars.

“Oh, Keith and Lance are back!” She turned to them and delivered lines in quite an impressive manner considering everything was a ploy. “Keith, your brother’s in the kitchen having breakfast. He’s been looking for you.”

Keith rolled his eyes in a show of endearment. “He always is.”

He walked ahead and quickly made his way to the kitchen, with Lance following silently behind even though every voice in his head was warning him of a thunderstorm brewing. Lance dutifully kept his mouth shut like Keith said, but he was still afraid that too many moments of silence and too many lines of a fabricated story of how he definitely did _not_ fuck Keith last night would get to him and just have him bursting sooner or later, spilling out every dirty detail of their night to Shiro (along with a mountain of apologies for everything else in between).

“Morning, Takashi.” Shiro looked up upon being addressed, looking fairly well-dressed so early in the morning. Keith smoothly took a seat next to him and politely thanked Hunk for getting started on the eggs. “You didn’t have to drive all the way here just to see me. You could’ve just texted.”

That didn’t seem to completely let them off the hook, from what Lance could tell in Shiro’s narrowed eyes. “You didn’t answer, so I figured you were sleeping.”

“Oh, Lance and I were out for a walk. Must’ve wandered into an area with no signal.”

“A walk?”

“Yeah, around the area and stuff. Wanted to show Keith the old picnic tables near the river,” Lance piped in in what he hoped was helpful. Shiro turned his attention to him for the first time since he arrived, then quickly turned to Hunk, who was trying not to be noticed as he continued frying eggs.

“Hunk said you guys were out buying more eggs.”

“-but the shop was closed, so we just went out for a walk,” Keith supplied, not looking up from his phone as if he was just having a casual conversation.

Any other suspicions that could’ve been raised quickly dissipated as a plate full of creamy scrambled eggs were placed in front of them, the smell of Hunk’s signature cooking engulfing the whole room. Shay brought the table a pot of fresh coffee and the mentally-rehearsed lines explaining Keith’s whereabouts the night before were forgotten in exchange for a good meal.

Lance sat next to Keith. He didn’t know why it mattered, but their elbows kept touching and it kept luring his eyes to the sight of his shirt on Keith’s body again and again. The conversation traveled to schoolwork and family and other trivial matters that Lance should’ve been enthusiastic to share a great amount of stories about, but he found himself caring so much more about the way the hem of his t-shirt was too big on Keith, and that the sleeves were too long.

Breakfast finished too fast and Lance found himself stacking his dishes and bringing it to the sink to stop Shay or Hunk from volunteering to wash the dishes.

“It’s cool, I can take care of the plates. You guys already cooked us everything anyway.”

Hunk, Shay, and Shiro left for the living room to continue their conversation, Keith being left behind when he volunteered to help clean up.

Lance definitely expected _The Talk_ ™. You know, that kind of awkward talk of 'pass the butter, thanks for the waffles, thanks for the sex that I hope won't extend to anything else' you have with the your hook up in the morning after the said hook up. Especially since he was beginning to learn that Keith could almost always spin things to go his way when he wanted to. So, if they were being left alone in the guise of good-naturedly volunteering to help clean up the morning _after_ their hook up, Lance was certain it was because Keith wanted to talk.

To his surprise, Keith didn’t hit him with the hard questions the moment they had the room to themselves, though (well, kind of had the room to themselves, since there was still a large doorway leading to the living room where Lance could hear Shiro and Hunk excitedly talk about an upcoming game). Instead, Keith did what he declared he’d do in the first place: stack all the dishes, bring them to the sink, and grab a sponge and rubber gloves to get started on the dishes with Lance.

So, either he had completely misread the situation and Keith thought it was the end of their hook up and that it’d be best not to bring it up anymore…

… or, well, Keith was fucking with him again.

(Wouldn’t be the first time.)

He should’ve been grateful to hope for the former, since post-hook up talks nine times out of ten did not end up well. But the clinking of porcelain and the sound of running water was driving him insane, especially as he shared them with a relatively quiet Omega that he slept with less than twenty-four hours ago.

“So. Nice shirt.”

Keith snorted at that, humming in agreement as he scrubbed off food stains from the plates, reaching over Lance to grab more lemon-scented dishwashing soap. “Yeah, I got it from a cute Alpha I met a few months ago.”

“What are they like?”

“Well, they would be my type if they weren’t so scared of my brother barging in the room whenever we tried to come close to doing anything.” Keith eyes glanced up to meet his, glinting in mischief. “But where’s the fun in that? I guess I’ll keep him.”

Lance’s hands shook but he blamed it on the freezing sink water instead, at least managing a small smile at the statement. “Sounds to me that you like this guy.”

“Not any more than the others, but I’ll put him on the list,” Keith retorted in a sing-song voice, uncharacteristically chipper as he polished the plates. Lance gave a genuine chuckle at that, the silence afterwards naturally settling around them in ease. It was after he was placing the second-to-the-last mug back in its place that Keith spoke up again.

“Hey, I really wanna make this clear, but I’m just looking for a hook up.”

When Lance turned to look at him, Keith looked rightfully bashful, going back and forth to glancing at him to gauge his expression and down to his feet.

“I’m alright with that. I mean, it’s just sex, right?”

“Hmm.”

Silence again. And the clinking of some more mugs as he arranged them.

“You don’t need to expect anything from me, and I don’t need to expect anything from you either. Except, you know, stress relief or something,” Lance continued, only because his brain-to-mouth filter was severely damaged and his mind kept supplying him with infinite sentences unless Keith gave the right response that suggested he was indeed done with talking about it. “Just think of it, like… friends with benefits…?”

That drew a familiar smirk from the Omega. “But you’d have to be my friend for that. As far as I’m concerned, all I know about you is your name and your dick size.”

Lance tried to swallow back a laugh at that, taking out a hand (that was still wrinkly from the soap water) and looking at Keith expectantly. “Hi, my name is Lance McClain and I would like to be your friend. That you sometimes fuck.”

Keith, on the other hand, didn’t try to hide his laugh at all, settling on shaking Lance’s hand eagerly instead. “In that case, I'm Keith Kogane. I’d love to be your friend.”

The others came in before he could add to that, Shiro announcing that they had to be heading home soon. Lance and Keith quickly separated to stow the remaining dishes in their places. So they caught a ride from Shiro and bid Shay good bye, thanking her for the stay and the wonderful meals over and over again. And even after Shiro dropped Lance and Hunk off in their doorstep, Lance swore he could still smell the scent of lemon-scented dishwashing soap from Keith’s hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter is short.
> 
> If you haven't seen my Tumblr post, I'm officially done with high school. And that means I have to face college in all it's expensive glory. I'm actually planning on starting a Patreon or Ko-Fi for my main blog's art to get by, but I need to find a way to make my parents less involved as possible because they are not the most supportive people. If you have any tips for that, don't be shy to hit me up.
> 
> (Also forgive the hiatus, but I'll promise to upload more now that school is over)


	8. Chapter 8

The first thing Hunk said to him when he shut their door was, “You cannot do that to me and Shay _again_.”

Lance released as exasperated sigh. He knew an explanation was overdue by now (especially by super-ultra-mega best friends standards, which was a title gratuitously granted to Hunk the moment they met). So he flopped to the worn couch they had in the dorm (it was a half-price item his mother excitedly insisted they buy when she took Lance shopping for ‘college supplies’) and braced himself for a very brief, very sex-free explanation of last night. “Okay, I know, I know. It’s just- I wasn’t thinking last night-”

“Man, I wish that was the _only_ thing you were doing last night.” Hunk rolled his eyes, clearly deciding to put a well-deserved amount of snark in there due to Lance’s irresponsibility. A lot of people, including Lance, never would’ve assumed Hunk to be the coy and sarcastic guy he was underneath it all, but upset him (or his girlfriend) once and suddenly you are stuck in a heated battle of snarky comments and snappy comebacks. It was a battle Lance lost more often than he’d like to admit.

“Listen, I know Keith is like 100% your type and all-”

“Okay, that’s a bit of a stretch.”

“-but maybe you gotta step back from this one…?”

Hunk sat next to him in the couch, so he scooted over a bit. Lance had to look up a bit to be able to look at him. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, okay. From what you tell me, Keith is always getting you into these shitty situations.”

“Well, I kinda help him into getting me in those shitty situations.”

“Yeah, but, behind Shiro’s back, really? If he gets caught, he has nothing to lose. You already said this was like a game to him.” Hunk pointedly stared at him, so he just shrugged. “But if you lose, that’s it. In any situation, he comes out at the top.”

Lance awkwardly coughed, trying to supress a grin. “Technically, _I_ come out at the top most of the time.”

“ _Lance_.”

“Okay, okay. No more jokes.” He was still on his back, so he raised both his hands high enough for Hunk to see his surrendering gesture. “But I swear, I think we have even footing now and if I ever feel like the stakes are ever too high, I’ll back off. Just like that.”

“Just like that?” He could almost see questioning look Hunk was bound to give him at that statement, one eyebrow expertly raised while his ‘clearly-not-amused’ expression stared him down.

“Just like that.” Lance repeated, nodding his head sternly. “It comes with the friends with benefits package and all. So I can call quits and both of us would just walk away friends or something.”

It was silent for a while before Hunk stood and the springs of their old couch gave a whiny squeak from the action. “That is the most cliché thing I’ve ever heard. _Ever_. God, wait till Pidge hears about this on Tuesday, she’s gonna say the same thing.”

 

* * *

 

 

“That is the most cliché thing I’ve ever heard.”

Lance groaned as Pidge went on, leaving Hunk laughing in the background. “Right? I told him you’d say that,” Hunk joked.

“What, did you look this up on wikiHow or something? ‘ _How to Ruin All Your Hopes of a Steady Relationship in College in a Ridiculously Cliché Manner_ ’?” Pidge threw her hands up dramatically, as if they were in a shoot instead of sitting on a table in the Green Dorms cafeteria (which wasn’t even completely empty, Pidge just kinda took the first table that had enough seats for them and sat down, but the people sitting there didn’t even look up at them when they set their trays down). “Guess what, Lance? Step one is become fuck buddies with someone you barely know.” (Okay, some of the strangers from their table looked up at them now.)

“I’m not-!” Lance was about to match Pidge’s volume, but he did a quick glance and figured it was best not to draw attention to their group at the moment. “I’m not anyone’s fuck buddy. It’s friends with benefits, and it’s different.”

“Nope, I’m pretty sure fuck buddies and friends with benefits are synonymous.” Pidge objected, still content with talking about such an embarrassing topic in normal volume.

“Wait, I think he has a point. I mean, fuck buddies fuck, but friends with benefits… ” Hunk trailed off as he tried to add into the argument, putting a finger on his chin and tapping it as if he was deep in thought.

Pidge snorted, retort already polished and ready even before Hunk could finish his sentence. “Go on and tell me the ‘benefits’ in friends with benefits does not equate to fuck, Hunk. ‘Cause it sure as hell doesn’t mean you deliver a complimentary box of pizza to their doorstep for every month you’ve been getting each other off.”

“That is one great benefit, though.”

“I swear I am _not_ getting in a debate with you guys just to discuss the dynamics of being friends with benefits. Or fuck buddies.” Lance whined and covered his flushing face in embarrassment.

“Yeah, you’re here to discuss how exactly you dug a grave this deep for yourself in less than forty-eight hours.”

“It is _not_ a grave. I mean, we handled it like adults and decided that we both weren’t looking for anything serious right now. And I am kinda his friend now too.”

Pidge leaned back to her chair and adjusted her glasses. “That’s, like, step two of ‘ _How to Ruin All Your Hopes of a Steady Relationship in College in a Ridiculously Cliché Manner_ ’. Become friends with your fuck buddy.”

Hunk broke the tension and silence by giggling. Lance rolled his eyes and began packing his stuff, his plate was already empty anyway. “You guys are unbelievable. I’m going to class.”

They both burst into a laughing fit and apologized while Lance was getting up anyway, Lance waved it off and said it was no big deal. He looked like he was trying to look pissed, but ended up smiling by the end of the it. The Alpha eventually left the cafeteria to head to his building, while Pidge and Hunk remained on the nearly empty table to finish their breakfast.

“I can’t believe he signed up for that Monday nine am class. I mean, who does that?” Hunk wondered curiously as he glanced at the time from the giant wall clock hanging on one of the walls.

“People who have dug a grave for themselves, that’s who, Hunk.” Pidge responded, which caused her friend to laugh again.

 

* * *

 

 

**Hey, text me when you get home safe.**

Keith. Saturday, 7:34 PM.

 

**Hey. You wanna meet up for lunch on Monday?**

Keith. Sunday, 4:51 PM.

 

**I’m free 430 onwards. We can hang out.**

Keith. Monday, 11:29 AM.

 

He hasn’t had any form of contact with Lotor since last Saturday, when Shiro dropped him off before driving to Shay’s. It wasn’t like they texted _regularly_. Keith didn’t really like to be on his phone much (it was a second-hand Samsung his mom insisted he take for college). It didn’t help that as a teenager, he didn’t really need a phone, since home was always just a walk away and Shiro followed him everywhere. As a result, he never really got the whole hype about it.

But Lotor was the only one who was about as close to a friend as he could get in the university. And he knew that Shiro didn’t count because nothing was lamer than having your big brother as your best friend (but he was, and always will be).

So when he got his first phone, Lotor handed him his number, just in case. They’ve never really talked much through it. They both preferred face-to-face conversation, or, you know, face-to-the-view-of-hot-sweaty-Alphas while sitting next to each other and conversing, in Lotor’s case. He didn’t like to admit it, but Keith kind of had the feeling that being raised in a traditional family meant Lotor didn’t get the whole hype about phones either.

Keith in particular has never felt much need to text Lotor, or anybody. He had only six profiles in his contacts: his dad, his mom, Shiro, Lotor, his uncle, and Rolo (he figured it was the safe thing to do after the party incident). Because his circle was so small, they were fairly easy to find. But it was the first time Lotor showed no interest in getting into contact at all, going to the extent of even avoiding Keith in the campus.

But Keith knew he’d be training that day. Or, at least, watching others train if he was still up to it. So he headed for the stadium after his last class and hoped to catch him on his way. If not to hang out, then to make sure he was alright, at the very least.

Their rigorous training was still going on even when he arrived, so he tried his best to remain discreet and make his way to the bleachers where they usually sat. Lotor was quite a talented player so he got let off early on most days, but he was training among them and not meeting Keith’s eyes at all. In the front were Shiro and the team’s coach, sternly yelling orders and making sure to get the team in shape before another ‘big game’ or something.

Perhaps Lotor hadn’t seen him yet. But some people had already noticed him and he tried his best to ignore their stares.

When their coach took his cap off, waving the boys off to the shower rooms and walking away, Keith took it as his cue to approach them.

“Good work today, team. Hit the showers and remember that we’re training tomorrow six am!” With practice, Shiro stood tall and regal above the rest of the team. Even after training, he showed not an ounce of exhaustion (that would no doubt change later when he crashed into his bed) as he regarded his team the way a leader should. His gaze shifted when he noticed Keith stalking towards them from the bleachers.

“Keith, what are you doing here?”

“I was just looking for Lotor.” Some Alphas turned back at them to see what it was all about. Keith recognized some of them — _many_ of them — from the corner of his eye.

“Lotor?” Shiro blinked, glancing at the rest of the team who were too tired or simply plain uninterested enough to want to storm into the showers immediately. “Well, he’s hitting the showers first, with the rest of the team. I don’t think now’s the best time.”

“Then I’ll wait,” Keith responded pointedly, quickly looking to the side where the bleachers were. “You can go ahead without me. I’ll probably catch dinner with him.”

Shiro looked unsure for a moment. And rightfully so. Lately, Keith’s record on him hasn’t been spotless, and Keith had a feeling his brother was still mending the trust broken over the weekend. But he just cleared his throat and nodded. “Alright then.”

He headed to the showers as well, but not before casting a narrowed stare at the small group of Alphas that were still standing around and probably looking at Keith a bit too much.

Keith paid no attention to them. He just turned and sat back down in the bleachers, making a show of clearly averting his gaze elsewhere so they’d lose interest and just go shower like Shiro told them to instead of approaching him. Some minutes passed and he cracked open a theoretical physics book he’d borrowed from Altea Library to pass time. But it soon got too dark to read anything, so he settled for idly looking through his phone even though nothing really entertained him in it.

Lotor was among the last of them to come out, when Shiro and the others had already gone to wherever they were heading to and some were busy bidding their friends goodbye, packing their stuff up, walking away with their Omegas in tow.

Keith marched up to him. “Lotor.”

He was slouching in exhaustion, not even bothering to look at him as he acknowledged him with a sigh as he walked towards his bag as well. “Hello, Keith.”

“Did you get my texts?”

“Unfortunately, yes. All five thousand of them.” Lotor had to be joking, but he couldn’t tell. His usual playful tone — one he often adopted when he was alone with Keith, one he didn’t put on with other people, and especially other Alphas —was absent. Which meant that the statement left the few people who overheard snickering.

“I sent you _three_ texts.” Keith’s face heated up as he corrected him, clenching his fists and trying not to look like a spoiled child arguing with their reasonable parent. Or worse, a bratty Omega whining to an Alpha who couldn’t even care less.

“It _felt_ like five thousand,” Lotor bit back.

“I was just asking if you wanted to meet up.”

Silence. The sound of Lotor arranging his things inside his sports bag and the distant chatter of the other members left in the field. “Well I didn’t. I assumed the silence would’ve sent the message, but here you are.”

Sarcasm. Often it was funny when Lotor was sarcastic, because Keith spoke similarly, so they got along by throwing their witty banter back and forth. But now it hurt because Keith knew that Lotor was mocking him of all people.

“Hey, don’t blame me for being concerned over you after that incident in the party-”

“As you can see, I don’t need it. But I offer my sincerest gratitude for the gesture.”

“Would you stop being a _stupid_ , stubborn Alpha and just-”

“Would _you_ stop being a stupid, clingy Omega?”

 _Fuck him_ , his mind raged. He felt his ears turn red in shame, in the knowledge that there was a likely a crowd watching them because they drew attention to themselves. _Fuck Lotor, just walk away now_.

“Then drive your own drunk ass home next time, asshole.” Keith sneered before promptly turning around and trying to get away from the field as fast as possible. Thankfully, no one tried to approach him, not Lotor or the Alphas left in the field or the other students in campus who were probably more than curious why he was positively seething as he stomped through buildings.

What’s worse was that it hurt. Keith would probably have a hard time admitting it, but Lotor _was_ his friend. They always put up a certain air as if they were sticking to each other only because they were convenient to each other. But it was more than that. Lotor knew Keith in ways he hadn’t even figured out himself, and Keith knew sides of Lotor that he wasn’t even ready to accept yet.

Keith tried as much as possible to remain passive through it all, maybe appear pissed enough to be threatening, but he could feel hot tears welling up in his eyes and he couldn’t tell if it was out of shame or anger.

Campus was dark and people were filling stores and restaurants for dinner but Keith didn’t feel like going in alone. When he checked his battery and his cracked screen lit up like a match, he could see a notification for an unfamiliar number.

 

**Netflix and chill? My roommate’s gone. This is Lance btw.**

Unknown. Monday, 6:54 PM.

 

The corners of his mouth drew up in a smirk, staring at the text as he typed in his response with one hand. Keith doesn’t need to be alone, not tonight.

 

**Let’s catch dinner first then head to your place.**

Keith. Monday, 6:57 PM.

 

Lotor can bitch about his life all he wants, but Keith doesn't need to be his net every time he fell. Without even waiting for Lance's reply, he shoved his phone in his pocket and hoped he could still remember the way to Lance's dorm in the dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I probably shouldn't have promised to update more now that school is finished because I realize that means being home more and my parents are still batshit crazy so I have become a depressed mess again.
> 
> On the side note, thank you SO MUCH to the people who gave me advice and support both in here and in Tumblr!! I didn't get into any scholarships so far, but still trying the whole job thing and hopefully it works.
> 
> Also! NO, I do not want to make Lotor a bad guy. I just like Drama™.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for bad Marvel references, unrealistic dorm sex, and abuse of the italics setting.

Of all places, they ended up in a pizza place downtown.

The lights were dim, making it quite difficult to make out anyone’s face inside. Instead, trails of neon green, blue, and pink lights snaked through the roof and walls as part of the place’s aesthetic. This late, it was absolutely alive with people both stuffing their faces with cheap fast-food and chugging down glass after glass of alcohol.

Not that Keith was complaining. He didn’t even know the mechanics of fuck buddies. Or friends-with-benefits, or whatever. But he sure as hell knew that he shouldn't expect Lance to pick something classy, obviously it wasn’t worth as much thought and concern as a first-date kind of location.

That’s how they ended up cramped in one of the tiny booth thingies the restaurant had. It was hardly the worst place Keith’s been to before a promised fuck — the sofas they had as chairs were scratchy and its stuffing was spilling out through the gaping holes in the leather, while all the only source of prominent light they had in their corner was from a flickering lamp that hung overhead (and Lance was almost tall enough to hit his forehead against it when he stood).

One thing Keith realized about their situation much too late for him to back down from it was how it involved developing a friendship, which wasn’t his strongest feat. It was easier to just sleep with someone by comparison. Because that took little to no effort (on _his_ part, at least, since he considered himself quite skilled), unlike delving into a comfortable conversation and learning more about another person’s personality while simultaneously offering some bits of information about your own.

Sex was just… _sex_. Usually when the chit-chat came to an end and he was able to decide whether he wanted to carry on with the act or not, he would be able to steer the night (or day, or any time, really, he wasn’t picky) in whatever direction he wanted. Clothes came off and were dropped to the floor, forgotten. Long conversations were quickly exchanged for quick teasing words in between gasps of pain and pleasure.

And Keith loved that about it. The simplicity of it all. There would be no need for hiding true intentions behind a trivial routine of question-and-answer. He didn’t have to pretend he actually gave a crap about simple questions regarding his major or what he liked doing in his spare time or what sports team he was fond of. Instead, it was just pure raw movement and emotions that drove him.

Lance, on the other hand, hardly seemed perturbed by their lack of apparent similarities, or even the lack of Keith’s interest and/or skill in maintaining a proper conversation with him. He just _talked_. He talked for miles — about his friends, about his major, about his family. They were breaking through topics faster than Keith could wrap his head around. All he could do was nod and stay silent and hope Lance didn’t really notice how awkwardly lost he was.

At the moment, Lance was caught in telling a story of how he almost got Shiro in trouble by dragging him into a prank that involved dyeing the hockey team’s equipment bright pink as part of a plan he cleverly crafted after eight shots. Keith didn’t really remember the details, but he laughed as Lance went on about how scared Shiro was when they heard the door open behind them, how he probably contributed to some gray hair strands the guy had.

“Man, your brother has to chill sometimes, though. I swear he worries like a single-father that raised an entire family of five.”

“He practically raised Matt Holt, it’s the same thing,” Keith pointed out delightfully as he giggled in agreement with Lance’s comments.

“I almost forgot that you and Pidge know each other. Between you and me, though-” Lance cupped his hands around his mouth and looked around the room in exaggerated caution, like he was relaying highly classified information, “-she is deadly. So watch your back.”

“Who do you think taught her to be?” Keith just grinned.

Lance burst into a fit of barely contained giggles, probably the drinks getting to him. But Keith also couldn’t help but feel a little lighter in his chest as the conversation seemed to go smoothly. No one would ever call him an adept conversationalist, but he could at least say that it was because Lance was such an encouraging partner when it came to talking.

“You guys seem like complete opposites,” the Alpha pointed out while rolling his eyes, “You know I tried to get her to a party once. And she snuck into an empty room to work on her final programming project.”

Keith nodded in agreement. It wasn’t really surprising to him, considering any time he tried to pull Pidge to visiting the bars in their neighbourhood after they first got their fake IDs (he excitedly got his as soon as he found out how to, while he convinced a rather reluctant Pidge to get one in exchange for ‘unseen future benefits’) ended in a disaster. “Don’t even get me started on drinking. I invited her to a club once and she ditched me to watch some Marvel movie on opening night.”

Lance paused, holding up a single French fry (coated in gravy for some reason), while he contemplated. “Okay, but I would probably ditch a regular drinking night to watch a Marvel movie on opening night too. I mean, she probably even watched it with me, now that I think about it.”

Keith pulled a face. “No way. It’s just the same kind of hero movie over and over again.”

Lance gave a dramatic gasp, which would’ve been funnier if Keith could see his face more clearly. “Allow me to deliver my rebuttal.”

“Go ahead, but you can’t prove me wrong,” Keith insisted with a smug look. “It’s just the hero doing the right thing and beating the bad guy in the end. And even when he dies, they bring him back for another movie because the franchise earns too much for them to give it up. It’s ridiculous.”

“Okay, first of all, it is not that simple. Cap and Tony were _both_ convinced they were doing the right thing in _Civil War_ and Killmonger had more or less good intentions in _Black Panther_.” Lance was waving his hands rapidly as he explained, Keith only caught the movement because the neon lights were painting his skin. “I don’t know if you even want me to get into _Deadpool_. How many movies have you watched for my points to make any sense?”

He thought for a while. Then shrugged in nonchalance. “Maybe two. Two and a half…?”

Another dramatic gasp. “I am not going to explain the awesomeness which is the Marvel Cinematic Universe to someone who hasn’t even seen half of the movies. How many heroes do you even know?”

“I know Steve Rogers and Tony Stark… Thor, Doctor Strange, Black Widow, Bucky, Black Panther…” Keith trailed off.

“That’s unfair, you’re just naming the hot people.” Lance smiled.

The Omega did the same, except his eyes were laced with something else. “I’m good at that. And I beg to argue that almost all of them are hot.”

Where the conversation was more one-sided ten minutes ago, Keith soon found himself enthusiastically laughing along with Lance’s remarks as they slyly bantered back and forth. Keith still didn’t know a lot about the movies to satisfy Lance, but they figured he knew enough to play rounds of ‘fuck, marry, kill’. As the tables emptied and more people left, they stayed in their own little corner, red-faced and stifling their giggles like a bunch of seventh graders as they exchanged answers.

“I would pick… kill Cap, fuck Thor, and marry Black Panther.” Keith beamed as he revealed his answers.

Lance was just scrutinizing him. “I can’t believe you would kill Captain America. He’s Captain goddamn America.”

“Cap seems like too much of a softie for a casual fuck. Thor, on the other hand.” The Omega’s dark eyes glinted mischievously. “T’Challa is a good balance between both of them. And imagine being married to a king, I can be, like, a sugar baby.”

“So you have a preference for royalty now.” Lance laughed, sounding closer to him than before all of the sudden. Their knees touched under the table, and Keith realized he couldn’t smell anything but Lance’s scent. He swore he could even feel the heat radiating off of his skin. “That’s dangerous.”

"I don't mind."

Pretty soon, Keith was leaning in and slotting his lips against Lance’s, who was eagerly returning the kiss with the same amount of fervour. He slipped his tongue in and could taste the cheap beer the Alpha’s been drinking the entire night. It wasn’t the best thing to set the mood, but he could hardly bring himself to care as he lifted himself until he was practically sitting on Lance’s lap.

They weren’t even the only ones getting more than a little physical in the restaurant. For the first time since they got there, Keith silently thanked the poor lighting because it meant he could easily slip his hands underneath Lance’s shirt without anyone glancing their way.

Lance gasped in his mouth. His hands must’ve been cold. One hand made its way to Keith’s hip, right over where the fabric of his jeans started, attaching itself rather roughly there as Keith continued teasing the Alpha. Meanwhile Keith’s hands grazed the outlines of Lance’s chest, then his stomach. He was not as ripped as the other Alphas Keith usually showed interest in, but he could make out the traces of strong muscles on them. He gave an impressed hum against Lance’s mouth, but it was mostly swallowed by their kiss. He could feel Lance smile in return.

It took one of Lance’s hands snaking their way to Keith thigh and squeezing harshly for them to break apart with a gasp.

Still perched comfortably on Lance’s lap, Keith’s chest rose and fell rapidly as he panted. Lance was no better, his clothes were rumpled, his lips swollen, and his skin coated with sweat. Not to mention the slight hardness that was now nudging Keith’s inner thigh. The Alpha looked like a mess, and Keith was sure he looked no different.

“Let’s head back to my place,” Lance suggested, no longer paying attention to the food scraps left on their table. Keith could only nod, trying not to look too smug when he registered how breathless Lance sounded.

 

* * *

 

 

Like the Alpha promised, Lance’s dorm was wonderfully devoid of anyone else who could’ve possibly interrupted them. Reminiscent of their experience a few nights ago, Lance and Keith blindly stumbled through the dark room as they tried to strip down as many layers as they can. Before they even reached Lance’s bed, he found himself pinned between the hungry Alpha and the wall.

“Oh, god,” Keith gasped as Lance’s burning hot mouth latched itself on his neck, too lost in the feeling to comprehend how much trouble it would later bring if the action left a mark. “The people in the other rooms are gonna be so pissed if we wake them up.”

Lance laughed and then hitched one of Keith’s legs up over the crook of his arm. “Let’s give them a show then.”

The thought of Lance fucking him against the wall, where students in the nearby dorms would probably hear their noise, shouldn’t have been as arousing as it was. But it was and he couldn’t bring himself to not go along with it after Lance suggested it.

After slipping a condom on his cock and lathering it with lube from the drawer, Lance’s hardness was poking his own hastily slicked up opening. Bracing himself with both arms around the Alpha’s neck while a sturdy hand still held up one of his legs, Keith nodded to cue Lance he was ready. Not wasting even a second, a thick cock was soon making its way inside him and had him moaning out loud in the intrusion.

From that position, it felt bigger much than before. His eyes fluttered shut in the blissful, familiar feeling, which earned him a chuckle from Lance. “Much better than fucking the King of Wakanda?” he joked, but it soon turned into a groan as Keith rolled his hips in the perfect motion.

“Nope, but you’re getting there.”

Lance gave a little laugh, but that was all he registered before he had to lock his arms around the Alpha’s neck tighter as Lance began burying himself inside Keith with deep thrusts. The Omega let out an encouraging keen as he let himself once again get acquainted with the blissful feeling of being stretched full. As promised, Keith threw his head back and cried out as much as he wanted, without a care towards the students he was rousing at roughly 2 am.

That’s when their night _really_ began.

Soon enough, Lance managed to hold Keith up completely, with the Omega’s long legs coiled tightly around his waist. The thought alone was almost enough to set him off — Lance lifting him against the wall, his body inching up against it with every rough thrust. If not that, the shocks that jolted through his body as the cock entered him rhythmically were sure to be the cause of his undoing.

Later when they both figured their legs were too shaky to carry on, Keith pushed Lance over to his bed and got on top of him.

“Gonna ride me?” Even in the dark, Keith could see Lance raise a brow at him in a challenge. Before he even received an answer, his hands once again found their way to Keith’s hips.

“Can’t let you do all the work.” Keith smirked as he replied, angling his hips properly and promptly slipping himself down on Lance’s leaking erection.

With that, he was riding him with the energy of a ferocious general riding off to a great battle. Bad analogy, but he could hardly think as his insides trembled each time he speared himself down on Lance’s dick. And the Alpha wasn’t helping as he thrusted up in time with his movements, Keith left wondering how he still had the energy to do so. At the third thrust, Keith was grabbing Lance's shoulders in a tight, shaky grasp, wailing as Lance struck gold. His eyes went bleary as the Alpha hit his prostate straight on, and proceeded to aim for it again and again. Not forgetting to do his own share of work, Keith enthusiastically bounced himself up and down on the Alpha's erection.

Lance’s thrusts were getting erratic, losing all sense of rhythm as he was brought closer and closer to completion. When Keith looked down, his mouth was ajar and his eyes half-lidded. His gaze was intensely trained to the sight of himself entering Keith over and over again. The hands that were previously slotted on his hips moved to grip his ass instead, pulling apart his cheeks as Lance delivered a series of rough thrusts.

Keith settled himself to just moving his hips along, since Lance obviously wasn’t going to let him do everything. Placing one hand on Lance's chest to hold himself up, he used the other to give the attention his own neglected cock had been needing all night. He could at least finish before Lance to relish in the feeling of being fucked open.

Lance continued thrusting up while Keith rolled his hips in a sinfully synchronized motion that had him seeing stars. The Omega threw his head back at the pleasure of having Lance abuse the sensitive bundle of nerves somewhere inside him, gripping Lance so hard he swore he left scratch marks. He couldn’t help but let out a high-pitched whine.

“Agh- _Lance_!”

Not a moment later, he was splattering Lance’s stomach with cum and shaking at the force of his own climax. That seemed to spur the Alpha below him more, as after a few more powerful thrusts, he finished into the condom as well.

Panting from exhaustion, Keith felt himself drop down on top of Lance and — he would unfortunately learn once he felt something stick to his skin — into a small puddle of his own mess. Just when he was about to move to get out of the way, they both tensed up as they felt Lance’s knot forming.

“I forgot about that.” Lance appeared shy as he admitted. His arms had wrapped themselves around Keith’s thin waist protectively, as if to prevent him from moving. Not that he was planning to anymore, Lance’s knot had expanded inside of him and he knew it wouldn’t go down for a couple minutes.

In spite of himself, he felt a needy whine slip past his lips. Which had Lance looking at him incredulously, but he laughed anyway. “Not yet enough for you, Keith?”

Keith smirked back and slipped his hands back on Lance’s shoulders (he was beginning to really, _really_ like Lance’s shoulders). “We have all night.”

 

* * *

 

Lance would’ve liked to say that calling Keith up hasn’t become an addiction at that point.

But he would’ve been lying.

 

* * *

 

 

_“And you’re sure no one would see us?” Lance’s nervous eyes darted back and forth to the locked door of the projection room and to Keith’s eyes that were slowly filling with exasperation as the Alpha questioned him again and again. Keith just rolled his eyes at his blatant concern._

_“Relax, I’ve done this before. And you could always back out if you’re too scared.”_

_“Hey, I just don’t wanna go all Kardashian and become famous for a sex tape, okay?”_

_“No one’s taping anyone. Unless you’re into that sorta thing.”_

_“You get the analogy. Now are you sure about this or not?”_

_A wide smile stretched across Keith’s face. Not wasting any more time, two needy hands grabbed ahold of Lance’s shoulders and pulled him into a hungry kiss._

 

* * *

 

 

At this point, he supposed he could call it one of his favorite stress relievers. Way high up with drinking and going home to his grandmother’s house for Christmas.

And what’s best is that Keith doesn’t seem bothered by the casualness of it at all. Lance called him up whenever he felt like it, they would have a few hours of hanging out, and then they’d crash into whoever’s place (and sometimes _not_ their place in times when Keith felt more daring) was available for the ‘ _-with-benefits_ ’ part. Or Keith would be the one to call him. Regardless, they would both know what it meant.

 

* * *

 

 

_“Have you done this before?”_

_Keith threw Lance a sly smirk from where he was sitting on the bed. “Have_ I _ever eaten someone out before?”_

_The Alpha groaned as he stepped out of his pants to join Keith on the bed. “You know what I mean.”_

_“Yup, with an Alpha from one of the engineering frats or something. And it felt great.”_

_Lance gave a mock sigh, even if the trace of a smile was already forming on his lips. “I better do my best if you already have something to compare it to then.”_

_It was the last thing he said before descending down to part Keith’s thighs apart and get started. It was his first time eating someone out, but if he could use Keith’s cries and writhing body as any indication, it wasn’t something he was entirely terrible at. Nor was it something that was going to be a one-time thing._

 

* * *

 

 

Besides that, Keith was also quickly becoming quite a good friend, in his opinion. They started hanging out even apart from the times when one of them was feeling the need to fuck something. He even got Keith to come over to watch a couple in essentials in the MCU, even if they ended up making out throughout the latter half of _Guardians of the Galaxy_ (he normally wouldn’t even tear his eyes off the screen in that one because it was one of his favorites, but he found Keith had a talent in convincing him to do things he wouldn’t otherwise do).

Everyone else had seemed to notice their growing closeness apparently.

Hunk was the worst case because he had already walked in on them half naked in Lance’s bed. Twice. Thankfully, he was rather good-natured about it, but he did make sure to remind Keith and Lance all the time that _his_ bed was strictly off limits (it was also a good thing that he clearly voiced it out because Lance knew enough of Keith’s adventurous nature when it came to sex and he’s seen him eyeing his roommate’s bed in curiosity too many times now).

Shiro was in notably high-spirits at the thought of his close friend and his brother getting along, with no trace of suspicion whatsoever. He even trusted him enough to let Lance walk his brother home during some late nights.

Pidge was still borderline disgusted and amused by the whole thing — both wishing she has never heard of the extent of their budding relationship in the first place, and also practically jumping in her seat for when the time comes to say ‘ _I told you so_ ’ after the whole thing inevitably blows up in their face.

 

* * *

 

 

_“_ _Do that- do that again.” A content hum left Keith’s pliant lips as they pulled apart from their sloppy kiss. Lance’s long fingers continue moving inside of him as they sat on his bed, with Keith’s back leaning against his naked chest._

_They were supposed to be studying for an exam. Keith, Lance found, was nearly as smart as Pidge and definitely had a knack for understanding the concepts in his physics book far faster than he did. Sometime after three hours of sticking their noses deep in the old textbooks, one of them decided it was time for a break._

_Which was how Lance ended up fingering Keith open with no intention other than to feel him as they lazily made out._

_“Just like that.” The Omega’s breathy voice hitched slightly as he jolted at the feeling of Lance’s fingers prodding his sweet spot. “Oh my god,_ Lance _.”_

_Afterwards, Lance’s dorm room was filled with the sounds of Keith’s soft whines and gasps. Their textbooks were left forgotten on top of his drawer and the late afternoon light began basking his bed sheet in harsh reds and yellows._

 

* * *

 

 

Keith was becoming a bigger part of his everyday life than he imagined. He could only hope that was a good thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't updated this in a while because I've been sucked back into the Marvel fandom thanks to Infinity War (hence the references) and I worked on another [Sheith story](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14523510) I've been meaning to write for a while now.
> 
> Also sorry that I haven't been active in general lately. Home is not the best place for me right now but I can't really go anywhere else. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. I wanna get started on the next one right away because I want Lotor to make a comeback.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am tired.

Okay, to get things straight Pidge was sure as hell that Lance wasn’t a very ballsy person.

She knew him throughout most of high school, and heard the rest of his life story from Hunk (who knew Lance since second grade). And, by the looks of it, even when she wasn’t there to ground him to reality, Lance was just a pretty average kid. He got into accidents, made stupid decisions, messed up a lot — but everything fell under a mediocre childhood experience.

High school, puberty-stage Lance wasn’t that much different, she figured. He was this lanky, awkward teen who hid behind a lot of bad jokes and flimsy flirting attempts, but he easily blended in with the rest of the crowd of teens tripping over themselves to get just a taste of ‘the adult world’.

Lance had grown since then, and she could testify to that. He’s matured more than she usually admitted out loud — more than anyone of them admitted out loud. They all have grown into their adult shoes which were once too big for them and stumbled into college life unprepared and terrified — but soon learned how to work with the system. But that didn’t mean there were no days of stressing over papers, procrastinating homework, and general college hooliganism, they just learned how to tone it down during the right times to get through life without too many scars.

When he first told her about Keith, spilling out the contents of that night in the club like knocking down a cup of coffee all over newly printed research papers, Pidge could say that she was more than surprised. For one, although she was no stranger to Lance’s _past_ relationships before, she supposed she didn’t expect another Omega to catch his attention so soon. She would never accuse Lance of being too stupid to see when he’s walking right into a trap, but she had to wonder why Lance seemed all too excited to jump right into whatever shithole was probably laid out in front of him.

Two, it was Keith — which meant that things were _all_ the more different.

Pidge waited on the couch impatiently, fully intent on getting at least ten minutes alone with Keith when they arrive in Shiro’s apartment later. Matt and Shiro wanted to meet up to discuss a project they had started together and Pidge had nothing to do which meant she was tagging along (they didn’t mind, sometimes they even asked for her input, which was pretty close to a compliment, in her book). Matt was still in the shower because he woke up ten minutes later than planned, so that meant that Pidge was stuck in their small excuse of a living room listening to him belt out the lyrics to some top twenty’s song he memorized the lyrics to ironically.

She supposed she should be grateful for the couch, though. And the dorm which was probably bigger than most because their dad’s permanent staff card was granting them more privilege than they felt they needed sometimes. But all she could think of was how Matt was singing off-key instead of hurrying up like he was supposed to.

“Are you done yet?”

“Hold on, Katie, I haven’t sung my daily Taylor tracks yet.”

She made her groan of exasperation as loud as she could, making sure it reached the bathroom. All it did was earn a giggle from her brother.

 

* * *

 

 

When Pidge first met Keith, she believed they would never get along.

He was around middle school-age at the time, and she hadn’t gone up a couple grades yet, which meant she was around three years his junior. He was pretty tall; tall enough for her to guess maybe he’d present as an Alpha in the near future. She stood barely at his shoulders at the time (not much has changed since then) and recalled the word _‘emo’_ coming across her mind the first time they were introduced in a family dinner.

He was clearly sulking on that day, wearing a too-clean, ironed-straight polo shirt that Mrs. Shirogane picked out for him. Although it was all put to waste with him slouching in his seat and barely saying a word to anyone in the table the entire time. They were _both_ miserable that day — Pidge for having to dress up for the event and have dinner with another family she didn’t know that well instead of just staying in the confines of her room.

She knew that their families have always been a little close, both of her parents and Mr. Shirogane being graduates of the same academy. That’s how she first met their son, Shiro, a few years ago, who stood obediently next to his parents without a hair out of place and charmed their entire family on the spot. Later on, he would end up being Matt’s close friend (and hers consequently because he was the only Alpha aside from her brother who would let her play with them when they were nerding out with their dinosaurs or spaceships or dinosaurs _in_ spaceships).

Keith is from another family, that’s what her mother explains to her in the car ride back home. She said his parents went away and he spent a good portion of his life afterwards living with his aunt, but ended up with the Shiroganes for some reason instead of with his only blood relative left.

Until then, it didn’t really make sense to Pidge that _everyone_ was nice to Keith. The Shiroganes tolerated his bad behavior on the table and Shiro genuinely tried to involve him in their games all the time (Keith always rejected it with a scowl).

Pidge didn’t like imagining where _she’d_ be without her parents, where she and Matt would end up. She figured maybe Keith was still healing somewhat, so she gave him the time and space to do so.

Their truce was expressed in small occurrences. Sometimes she snuck in extra dessert for Keith or shared a playful smile with him across the table at something stupid the adults were worrying about, something goofy Shiro and Matt were attempting to do under Mrs. Shirogane’s watchful eye. She forgot about the days she used to be wary around him and realized they had quickly turned into quietly hanging out in the Shiroganes’ house with Keith.

She wondered if this was their plan all along, if the family dinners were just a gamble at helping Keith make a friend. She supposed it worked. Somewhat.

It never occurred to her to wonder what Keith did when they all got ready to go to school, with Mrs. Shirogane picking the two of them from their house up to carpool with Shiro to school. It wasn’t until he showed up in their car one day halfway through the first semester and wearing the same stuffy navy blue uniform like the rest of them that Pidge remembered Keith also had to go to school like a regular kid.

The idea somehow perked her up, having someone there at school with her. Shiro and Matt were the same year, so they always had their classes together. Pidge had just advanced several grades so she figured it’d be kind of cool to have someone like Keith watching her back at least. While she could do the same for him since he was the new kid.

But, upon arriving at school, Keith proved to be quite the force to be reckoned with. There were some obstacles here and there, as per the regular middle school experience, but Keith was quite adamant about preserving his personal space and privacy. It was hard for anyone to get near him, even if they genuinely had good intentions.

The only people he regularly interacted with were Pidge, Matt, and Shiro. And even though Keith tried to keep them at arm’s length like the rest of the people at school, Pidge could tell he _did_ enjoy hanging out with them. Which was good because, since developing the loner persona he had throughout middle school, Pidge felt like Keith needed friends.

It was around the start of Pidge and Keith’s freshman year that their family decided to move upstate for a job opportunity. It was sad, and she _did_ remember feeling somewhat lost upon the announcement. After all, she had practically grown up with the Shiroganes, in a way, Keith and Shiro became her best friends. Her _only_ friends. (She didn’t want to include Matt because calling your brother your only friend is kind of lame.)

But she had sucked it up even through moving day, when their bags were packed and their car ready. Shiro and Keith had waited in their front yard and the four of them all exchanged hugs and promises. After that, Pidge got inside and watched her tiny neighborhood soon disappear from her view as their car took them to their new home.

 

* * *

 

 

Keith… was not home.

Shiro explained he recently started part-timing in a café just around the second gate of the campus. Ever the supportive mentor, Shiro was incredibly chipper while explaining the thing, talking about some things like how Keith was learning “how to be independent” and all that shit.

Pidge wanted to dig deeper into the Keith subject, maybe get an answer through Shiro (even though Lance’s reasoning said Shiro had no clue). But, turns out, she didn’t even have to try.

“Hey, do you think Keith’s dating anyone in the football team?”

Matt looked up from his laptop and shot him a look of exasperation. “I don’t know, Takashi Shirogane, captain of the university football team. _You_ tell me.”

Shiro just continued doing whatever he was doing in his computer, not even bothering to acknowledge Matt’s sarcastic answer at all. Pidge was editing the paper next to Matt, or what’s done so far, at least. She looked up and raised a brow at the other Alpha.

“What’s it to you if he’s dating? Just ask him.”

“I tried asking subtly, he didn’t give me anything.”

“Then he’s probably not dating anyone.”

That was the only time Shiro stopped to look up, his eyes travelling to somewhere else beyond his screen while he contemplated. “Yeah, you’re right. I’m probably just being paranoid.”

 

* * *

 

 

High school Keith… was _way_ weirder than she had predicted.

Come Christmas break when they had to visit their grandparents who lived in the same town as the Shiroganes, their mom decided it’d be a great time to stop by and greet the family.

She’s heard of tales of how high school ‘changed’ you or something. But she hadn’t quite noticed much of a difference in herself except an increase of a couple inches and the fact that she now wore glasses. Her freshman and sophomore year experience definitely wasn’t the dramatic coming-of-age adventure teen movies depicted. Instead she found comfort in her academics and her small group of friends. She sometimes wondered if it had anything to do with her presenting as a Beta, but she really couldn’t care less.

When they rang the doorbell to the familiar house and waited for someone to answer the door, they certainly hadn’t expected it to be a tall, long-haired Alpha who looked equally surprised to see them. “May I help you?” he asked, his tone and posture both made him appear like royalty.

Once the mishap was resolved, they had come to learn that the Alpha’s name was actually Lotor, and that he was Keith’s friend from school who had come to visit.

Keith himself was in his bedroom finishing up on his semester break’s load of homework, while the Shiro was in the living room, and their parents were out for Christmas shopping.

Shiro had presented as an Alpha just before they had moved away — so Pidge expected the much bigger, taller, Alpha-er Shiro who greeted them with a warm smile from the couch. Matt, who presented much later than him as another Alpha, was now several inches shorter than him even though they had been the same height when they first left the neighborhood. Keith, on the other hand, was a complete surprise — especially to her parents who cooed at his ‘shift to maturity’ after he came down the stairs.

Apparently, Keith had his first heat just three months earlier. In the five and a half months since Pidge had seen her friend, he had grown to be around as tall as Matt, except where her brother was lanky and skinny, Keith was lean and somewhat willowy. Keith, who was all awkward limbs and unruly hair from the time she’d known him, had transformed into the exact opposite.

Even Matt was especially blush-y when he greeted him, but after a playful insult or two, they were back to how they normally treated each other. Pidge even smiled and gave Keith a big hug right before Shiro asked about making all of them hot chocolate and personally escorted them to the dining room.

The big elephant in the room, however, was the pale Alpha who was still lounging in the couch with Keith, far from her parents’ prying eyes. Lotor had charmed both of her parents’ pants off with a few kind words before they were led away. So, naturally, once the conversation shifted to their lives in high school, Pidge’s mom complimented them both for their progress and said she was “glad Keith found such a polite, respectful boyfriend”.

To add to everyone’s confusion, Shiro’s eyes widened and he answered them with an awkward laugh. “Oh, they aren’t dating.”

Since he didn’t seem to hold any answers and it appeared they would have to ask Keith personally to know the extent of his relationship with the Alpha, they quickly dropped the topic and proceeded to talking about college choices.

Shiro unsurprisingly announced that he had applied to his dad’s alma mater to pursue engineering. Matt had done the same, but he had also applied to several schools near their area and was still undecided about which to pick (though Pidge had a hunch he’d give in and go for Garrison just because it was his childhood dream).

After an hour of trivial chatter, they emptied their mugs and wished the three ‘merry Christmas’, with promises to come visit again soon.

Apparently, ‘soon’ became a week later because Shiro called them up saying that his parents were inviting their family over for dinner. In an oddly nostalgic way, they found themselves seated on the rectangular table in the Shiroganes’ house, sharing stories across dinner as they passed plates of delicious food among themselves. Pidge still sat next to Keith, where she always used to sit. And, although the first few minutes were spent in awkward silence, they were quick to find their rhythm in back-to-forth banter. It felt just like the old times.

When the night turned darker and the footsteps they had previously left on the driveway were buried under layers of newly fallen snow, her parents called it a night. Shiro, on the other hand, suggested the four of them drive downtown to watch whatever’s showing. Since they were always weak to Shiro and his charms, they did little more than wish them a fun time and have Matt promise that they’d be back home by eleven.

With Shiro’s new car, that his parents gifted him when he turned seventeen, they drove up to an old cinema near its closing hours and excitedly picked some cheesy Christmas horror movie. The movie was more humor than it was horror, the four of them sat at the very back and kept laughing about the horrible effects and poorly scripted scenes. By the end of it, Pidge was even surprised they didn’t get kicked out of the movie. But she supposed hardly anyone cared because the theater was practically empty save the four of them and some other people anyway.

Half an hour before their curfew, they walked over to a diner to buy cups of hot chocolate. The waiter just looked tired to see four more customers so late at night, and begrudgingly took their orders.

Keith did a total one-eighty, though. He practically purred as the waiter asked for his order, and had a whole new mischievous glint in his eyes. The waiter had been reduced to a stuttering, awkward mess as he ran back to the counter. Once their drinks came, it was delivered with a big plate of gingerbread cookies — on the house.

“I can’t believe that just fucking happened,” Matt’s eyes lit in delight as he shoveled cookie after cookie into his mouth. “God, this tastes like heaven.”

“I told you that you don’t need to do that all the time. We could’ve just bought cookies.” Shiro sighed next to his brother, taking a sip from his mug and not paying much attention to the sweets laid in front of him.

In response, Keith just rolled his eyes. He looked quite triumphant as he plucked out an evenly-baked cookie from the top of the pile and took a bite out of it. Instead of chomping on it like Matt and Pidge did, Keith just settled for prettily nibbling the sweets while no doubt shooting looks at the waiter. “Shiro, I’ve seen you in action with waiters and waitresses here so many times that I can’t remember the last time they _didn’t_ give you something on the house. Besides-” the Omega glanced at the tall Alpha behind the counter “-it was _his_ choice to do that. You can’t blame me for that.”

Pidge just laughed and took a piece out for herself. “I can’t believe Keith became OP after puberty did its magic on him.”

 

* * *

 

 

Even though she knew Keith probably had no idea that she even wanted to get some answers, she still had the hunch that he was actively avoiding her.

It was most likely a coincidence, however, given they shared no classes and buildings and schedule similarities. In a big place like Garrison, it was hard to come across people you knew. Especially if you were people like Pidge and people you knew were limited to around six human beings. And two of them were related to you.

Speaking of.

Lance was fidgeting like crazy as they sat in the library, lazily talking about some shit that happened in class. Pidge was talking about Matt and Shiro’s paper, how it was coming up. Shiro mentioned that they were planning to sign up for a STEM seminar all the way in California to talk about their research in front of a crowd from twenty-four different universities.

“Sounds like the life.” Hunk’s voice was laced with a bit of sarcasm, even though it was easy to tell he was genuinely proud of their achievements. It was just hard to think about struggles that seemed so near to coming to a close for some students, while others were still stuck with things like midterms and finals and two more fucking years in college. “Not that completing a research paper isn’t a piece of cake, though.”

“Cake! Yeah, speaking of cake,” Lance exclaimed in a whisper-shout that had some of the students buried underneath papers and laptops glancing at them warily, “cake which is food. And yeah, I need to go head over to Marmora Café. For some food.”

Both of his friends raised an unimpressed eyebrow at him. It was common knowledge to all of them that Keith Kogane of all people worked part-time in that said establishment. Coupled with the fact that Shiro let it slip when they encountered him recently, Pidge herself has seen Lance exit the place using the employees-only backdoor looking particularly disheveled and wholly satisfied (ew).

“Sure, go ahead.” Pidge waved a hand at him. On cue, the Alpha started packing his things and prepared himself to run out of the library faster than Usain Bolt.

“Thanks, guys. See ya later.”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t keep Keith waiting.” This time Hunk was the one who dropped a snarky reply, which instantly brought a blush to Lance’s face that was easily visible even as he exited the library.

“God, what are we gonna do with him.” Pidge gave a mock disappointed sigh and shook her head.

“Do you think he’s lovesick?”

“Depends on how fast he gets there.”

“Well, Keith is a pretty cool guy. I just hope they both catch on soon.”

Hunk must’ve caught the look Pidge sent him behind her laptop. “What? He can’t be worse than Nyma, can he?”

Keith isn’t Nyma. Pidge has met Nyma, actually talked to her once. In her sugary sweet introduction and their less than pleasant interaction, she could tell underneath the layers that Nyma was worse than what she presented herself to be. Keith just liked a challenge, that’s why he does what he does. But Nyma practically lived for it. She wanted more than what she has, more than what you give her, more than what she knows you _can_ give her. But she also knows how to make things go her way in the end, she’ll know how to strip you free without even have anyone pin the blame on her. In her prime, she made it an art form.

“No. I guess he can’t be.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup. Still tired.
> 
> I promise I'll bring in the real stuff next chapter. Consider this a kinda filler because it's been sitting in my laptop for ages. And I also wanted a Pidge chapter.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me coming in with an overdue and lengthy Keith/Rolo side story out of nowhere
> 
> "This is plot, right?"

“Good enough?”

Keith turned to Lance, who was sitting on his bed and still facing the other way (even though he _insisted_ that he didn’t care if Lance watched him change because Lance has seen his naked ass too many times already). On cue, the Alpha looked back, set his phone aside, and did examined his friend from head to toe.

“Do you own _any_ other party clothes aside from crop tops and skinny jeans?”

Lance chuckled as Keith attempted to throw a pillow at him. “I have leggings,” he protested.

“Nope. Doesn’t count. Something that doesn’t make every person within the five-mile radius think you’re a total hottie.”

Keith just grinned devilishly as he got on the bed. “I _am_ a total hottie.”

A genuine laugh escaped Lance’s lips. “Mmm, I guess so.”

Keith smirked and leaned in for a kiss, even if he knows that if they take one step too far they’ll go downhill from there and their plans for the party will be forgotten for the rest of the night. But in the last second, Lance turned his face and Keith’s lips grazed his cheek instead. Faster than Keith could ask what’s wrong, Lance was out of the bed and patting his clothes down.

“Come on, we’re gonna be late.”

Keith grabbed his phone from his nightstand and _tried_ to wipe the pout off of his face. Well, it wasn’t really the best confidence boost to have someone call you hot and then just flat-out avoid kissing you. But he wouldn’t make a big deal out of it. He knew Lance had his reasons to do the things he did, and he knew that was their ‘friends-with-benefits’ label coming back to bite him.

_Casual kisses are reserved for mates. You’re not mates, are you?_

With a disappointed huff, Keith sent a quick text to Shiro (“ ** _gonna be out late. don’t wait up_** ”) and followed Lance through the door. He didn’t even want to know how bad his situation was that an alternate version of himself from a figment of his imagination actually had to remind him he was crossing the ‘fuck buddies’ line. Somewhere there in the ten-paged _Terms and Conditions_ he didn’t bother to read.

Thankfully, the ride with Hunk and Shay seemed to lessen the tension. Hunk and Shay were just the kind of couple that brightened the rest of the room, forcing any cloud of awkwardness out. Keith was also grateful for the fact that neither Hunk nor Shay ever commented about their more than unusual ‘relationship’ (well, not to _his_ face anyway).

Ever since lying to Shiro about Keith and Lance’s whereabouts the morning after having dinner in Shay’s, the couple have shown they’ve got their backs when it comes to their little arrangement. Unless it was something too extreme to cover up, of course. But hopefully, Keith and Lance would never attempt to do anything stupid enough to warrant that course of action.

Shay, Keith learned, was a fine arts major, but had plenty of love to spare for culinary arts. Her parents studied culinary arts in Garrison and eventually worked their way up the ladder to start their own restaurant in Brooklyn after graduation. Shay’s brother, Rax (who Hunk didn’t seem very enthusiastic to talk about, for some reason), followed their footsteps and finished his course last year, now working as a chef for their family business.

While Hunk and Lance bonded over whatever it was that got them snickering in the corner, Shay talked Keith’s ear off about art assignments and projects. Strangely enough, he didn’t mind. He liked hearing Shay talk about art and decided he probably garnered a bit more respect for it after their conversation.

When they pulled up in front of the lane of fraternity and sorority houses, they instantly spotted the towering brick house adorned with tiny multi-colored flags in the entrance, with windows lit with bright lights, and loud music coming out of every opening. The APE House was an engineering fraternity and rather infamous for hosting some of the biggest, craziest, and borderline illegal parties in the campus.

Keith has been to it once or twice before, all too drunk out of his mind to actually remember anything significant. Though, he did still recall hooking up with _two_ of the members with a strange sense of both embarrassment and pride.

“God, nobody’s going home sober tonight,” Lance joked to him, though he had to lean over and say it into Keith’s ear for him to hear it. Keith laughed and walked towards the entrance, half wishing Lance had his arm around his waist like he did normally. But since Lance didn’t seem very keen on physical contact that night (maybe he was hoping to take someone new home? Keith was in no place to judge after all), the Omega walked past him.

Some people did recognize him (although he couldn’t say the same for himself), but most of the ones who did just blatantly stared him down while only a few actually waved or greeted him. He still didn’t remember any of their names, but if they were any Alphas or Betas, he guessed he might’ve shared a kiss or two with them.

Inside was no less crazier than the front lawn. Furniture were pushed around and in various states of disrepair, while stains colored every surface thanks to the alcohol being passed around, and couples were heavily making out left and right.

Lance and Hunk seemed to recognize one of the people they shared their classes with and went over excitedly to a dimly-lit corner in the house, Shay and Keith following close behind. They all seemed to know each other, but Lance took the time to introduce him to his friend. Keith couldn’t even _hear_ the guy’s name over the music, but he just nodded, shook his hand, accepted the cup of whatever from the guy, and took his place next to Lance.

Even beside him, Lance was too engaged in an animated conversation to lean into Keith comfortably like how they usually did in parties. Ten minutes in and Hunk and Shay had gone off on their own to probably make out in a corner, while Keith was stuck half-heartedly responding to their conversation (only whenever they _chose_ to let him in, of course). So when he ran out of his drink, Keith took it as an excuse to get up and wander around to look for the kitchen.

The kitchen was relatively emptier for a standard frat party, but Keith didn’t complain because it meant he didn’t have to be uncomfortably pressed against multiple bodies as he made his way through the room.

There was a half-full pitcher on one of the counters. Before he could even grab an empty cup, he felt a presence behind him. “Careful. It tastes like lemonade but gives you a bitch of a hangover,” a familiar voice warned.

Keith was faced with a tipsy-looking Rolo once he turned around, with a tiny impish smile stretched across his face.

“I think I can handle it,” Keith answered with a smirk.

He could almost hear the laughter in Rolo’s words afterwards. “Never doubted you, Red.”

At that, he found his face flushing more than he wanted to admit. After all, Rolo was one of the few people he’s met in a party, slept with, and didn’t despise right after. Had they grown closer, Keith wouldn’t even be opposed to asking for a second round, since their first time together was fun enough and even led to a nickname Rolo _still_ jokingly brought up whenever they met (it had something to do with a red thong during a rather sinful night that Keith wasn’t particularly eager to be reminded of in a public setting, but he knew the Alpha didn’t mean any serious harm anyway).

“Got anything else to drink, though? Tonight’s objective is get drunk, not pregnant.”

Rolo settled next to him, getting close until their shoulders touched. “I have vodka that tastes like shitty coke.”

With that, he brought out a bottle filled with brown liquid and swung it around a bit. Keith eyed him up alone down mischievously, not bothering to hide the playfulness in his tone or gaze.

“Got one more bottle to spare?”

“Always.” Rolo smirked and produced another bottle of the vodka he was drinking by reaching into one of the cabinets. “Being part of a frat _does_ have perks. Every time they throw a party, I know where all the good drinks are in.”

“I forgot you joined this... Alpha Pi something. God, all the frat names sound the same.”

“As a pledge,” Rolo corrected him. “I mean, I was still a pledge when you met me that time.”

“Congratulations, then.”

The conversation slowed down to a halt and chaos continued to spread in the house as people passed through the kitchen, sometimes taking cups or ice or beer bottles, others staying a little longer to chat. Keith took a swig at his own bottle as they watched the seniors push some freshmen into the pool outside.

Rolo, who was leaning lazily on the counter (everything Rolo did seemed to be coupled with a natural ease that made people just _gravitate_ towards him), sighed and pushed himself up. “I gotta go make sure they don't crack their skulls while messing around in the pool. Blood is hard to wipe off the tiles.”

“Speaking from experience?”

“You didn't hear it from me.” Rolo shrugged and gave him a sly look that had Keith laughing softly.

“I'll look for you when I drain this one. You better have a refill ready for me then.” Keith stepped away from the counter as well, waving the half empty bottle at him.

“Anything for you, Red.” For a while, Rolo’s eyes held a certain happiness Keith wasn't able to decipher. It was out of his mind the moment he realized Rolo was leaning in to plant a gentle kiss on his cheek, something that seemed so out of place in a trashed house full of rowdy kids.

It would've been hypocritical to react the way that he did — with bashfulness. After all, he has done worse things in a room full of people. Not all the rumors they said about him were true, but even the nastiest ones held a grain of truth. Nevertheless, Keith found himself turning red and speechless at the act, dumbly waving goodbye at the Alpha as he stepped outside into the pool area.

When he snapped out of it, the people around him hardly seemed to care. They had better things to do than meddle with who gave Keith something as chaste as a peck on the cheek. Drunkenly makeout with one of the football players who was in an on-again, off-again relationship with some popular Omega — that would get the people talking. But nobody cared about a kiss on the cheek. Except for Keith, oddly enough.

He tightened his grip on the neck of the bottle and made his way out of the kitchen, pushing past warm bodies and avoiding stares, trying to keep his stupid smile to himself.

Once he got back, drink and all, Lance was surrounded with a lot more unfamiliar people. And usually, that was where Keith drew the line. Sure, he was sociable in his best moods, but he could never handle small talk and he thought the people sitting with Lance hardly seemed to have the tolerance to watch him trip over his words.

But Lance, he could trust. He was sort of his friend, after all. Lance wouldn’t just leave him to fend for himself in a social interaction, so maybe it wouldn’t be too bad.

Before he could convince himself to turn around, Lance met his eyes and waved him over. The seat next to him was taken by another Omega, so he kind of just hovered before finding a spot next to the friend Lance introduced him to earlier.

“Hey, Keith,” the Omega reached his hand out and Keith shook it, despite not knowing him at all.

“Hey, uh… sorry I’m not very good at names. Have we met?”

A laugh. “Oh, we don’t have any classes together. I just hear about you a lot.”

 _Of course you have_ , a part of himself whispered mockingly. He mentally ignored it, because he didn’t want the conversation to go bitter too fast.

“So Lance, like, told us you two aren’t dating. But we totally don’t believe him,” a Beta beside him with a Valley Girl accent joked. “’Cause, I mean, you guys are _always_ together.”

Keith grimaced at that, and he could see Lance sending him an apologetic look. But, before he could respond, the Omega sitting next to Lance piped in, “No, but isn’t Keith dating that Alpha from the football team? The one whose dad owns the school or something.”

“Lotor. No and no, I’m just friends with both of them.” Keith bit his tongue from trying to correct them about the fact that Lotor’s dad only technically owned _part_ of the school, because it would seem to add fuel to the fire.

There was an unnameable glint in the Omega’s eyes as he answered. “You friends with a lot of football players?”

 “Yeah. I, uh, know some people in the team.”

“Oh, I heard you _are_ pretty popular with the football team. They all seem to be familiar with you,” the Beta let out a giggle as she remarked. The rest of the group laughed, even Lance. Keith’s face turned red. He couldn't even tell if the laughter was meant to be threatening or not. He felt shame crawl up his throat and make it hard to swallow.

“I was talking about my brother.”

His tone must've been off, because the Omega’s smile dropped slightly. “Relax, we were just joking, Keith.”

The conversation moved on with little input from him. Without Lance’s or Lotor’s help, he found himself left behind or just plain lost in most conversations.

 _Damn it, it's not like you're some Omega who can't do anything themselves, right?_ his mind harshly snapped, _get over it and learn how to do things on your own. Like starting a fucking conversation._

“Oh my gosh, I know their parties are, like, great and all, but you shouldn’t!” Valley Girl suddenly exclaimed right next to him. Without meaning to, Keith asked, “shouldn’t do what?” He instantly regretted it, because it made it seem like he was spacing out on the entire conversation (he definitely was, though, but they didn't need any more reasons to think he's a total weirdo).

“Jason says he wants to become a pledge here. That is, like, a horrible idea.”

The guy sitting next to Keith — whose name was Jason, he finally learned — looked embarrassed enough at sharing the information, so Keith felt like defending his decision. “Maybe it won’t be that bad. I mean, my friend Rolo joined as a pledge and got in.”

The Omega across him raised an eyebrow challengingly. “Well, your friend Rolo had to sleep with an Omega for his final test then.”

“What do you mean?”

The rest of the party was still going on, but he could only hear the deafening silence in his ears. To make it worse, his question went unacknowledged but the Beta next to him provided him all the information he needed anyway.

“Yeah, I’ve heard of that. It’s, like, horrible. They, like, hang a new flag in the entrance for every pledge that fucks one.”

The Valley Girl laughed and Keith couldn't even find it in himself to fake one. He was feeling sick in the stomach, and not even from what he was drinking. “I'm just gonna go outside a bit.”

“Hey, you alright, Keith?” Lance reached over and clasped a hand around his wrist. Keith often looked for a sense of security from Lance, but he couldn't bring himself to even meet his eyes at the moment.

“Uh, yeah. I just promised Rolo I'd catch up with him after he took care of something. I really shouldn't keep him waiting.”

With that, Keith left the group and headed for the direction of the front door, to get the hell out of the frat house. Every second he spent inside, with the blaring music that nearly shattered his eardrums, was driving him insane.

He shivered when he stepped outside and was hit by the cold night air. Against his will, his eyes trailed up to the little flags decorating the frat house entrance. Just like what they said inside, his eyes widened at the sight of hundreds of tiny flags with colors so bright they pierced his vision. They were there before, they always were. But that was the only time he actually took the time to notice. Now that he knew the meaning behind every single one of them.

His legs felt glued to the ground, just as he couldn’t take his eyes off of the flags. They all danced as the wind blew, and some were old and tattered. Then Keith caught the sight of a bright red flag in the corner. One he couldn’t have known who it belonged to, the Omega it symbolized.

He knew he was likely just one of the hundreds, and there was no proof that the bright red flag happened to be Rolo’s. But Keith could imagine the sight of Rolo being congratulated for being accepted as a pledge, hair still tousled and clothes wrinkled from his night with Keith. An accomplished smirk on his face as he picked out a flag from the thousands they have stored, his eyes moving to a bright red one in the pile and instantly going to pick it up.

Every moment Rolo called him ‘Red’ suddenly seemed like an insult thrown to his face. It was no longer a nickname only the two of them shared that held intimacy and passion, he probably passed the story around among his friends. Probably laughed whenever Keith still smiled at him, was probably laughing at the fact that Keith let him kiss him on the cheek.

_‘Interested in a second round, Red?’_

With newfound anger, Keith found himself almost violently pushing past people and making his way back inside, to go to the backdoor that led to a pool. Rolo still had to be out there.

True enough, the Alpha was lazily resting against the wall as he talked to some other people. When he noticed Keith making his way towards him, he perked up and stood straighter, greeting him with a smile. It died slowly when he realized the Omega was seething with anger.

Without any regard for the people surrounding them and how it would’ve caused _exactly_ the kind of dramatic scene they would be gossiping about for ages, Keith marched up to the Alpha and yanked him forward with the collar of his shirt.

“Wha-”

“How’d you pass your final test?”

The panic in Rolo’s eyes simmered down to something else. Maybe shame, but Keith wasn’t going to give him the upperhand by suddenly questioning himself.

“Keith.”

“ _How’d you pass your final test_? Answer the fucking question, asshole.”

Rolo could easily get out of his grip, he knew. But he just sighed and calmly placed a hand atop where Keith had bunched up his clothing. “I didn’t do anything you didn’t want to.”

“Bullshit,” Keith bit back.

He could feel the music die down, could feel the stares on his back. This was Monday morning headlines worthy, _Keith Kogane Starts Drama in APE House Party_.

Rolo was still silent, as if he’s already given up on the conversation. But Keith wasn’t done yet, didn’t _want_ to be done yet. The anger inside him was heating up to a dangerous temperature and rose all the way up to his throat, making incoherent hateful words spill out of his mouth.

“You _really_ fooled me. Acting friendly all the time, even helping me out with Lotor. I bet you were hoping for a second time, right?” Keith let out a loud laugh. “You should’ve told me that night would be a story you’d be sharing with your entire frat house, I would’ve made sure to put on more of a show.”

“Hey, I didn’t mean-”

The Omega sneered and cut him off. “Yeah, fuck you. Shut up. I never want to see you again.”

He let go of Rolo’s shirt and revelled in the fact that he did it with enough force that the Alpha stumbled a bit. Before Rolo could’ve said anything to change his mind, he was storming off again, the crowd parting around him to let him pass.

His face was still red with anger, but he was glad he wasn’t reduced to tears yet, at least. If he was lucky, he could find Lance quickly and convince him into driving him home without any explanation needed. He wasn’t in the talking mood.

Keith searched for the corner he last saw Lance and the rest of the group in. It would be humiliating to suddenly take Lance away from them, but he’s already caused a scene once during that night so he hardly cared if another would be added to his reputation.

But what he found when he got to the corner was Lance appearing way too occupied to even notice his presence. The rest of the group was nowhere to be seen, instead the Omega that previously sat next to Lance was on his lap now, the two of them making out like all the other indistinguishable couples in the party. Their drinks were forgotten beside them, and Lance was holding an arm securely around the Omega’s waist.

Keith quickly ducked down before they could see him.

_Guess Lance would be busy tonight._

He felt like he was made of stone before, like nothing could get past his defenses. Everything that came out of his mouth were harsh and pointed.

But he felt shame trap his insides as he tried to get as far from the couple as possible. He felt that tight feeling in his throat and he felt tears prickle his eyes. Keith just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

So, of course he had to bump into Hunk.

“Keith, what’s wrong?” Hunk’s eyes were filled with worry. And he had a defensive stance, as if he was ready to drop everything and get Keith to safety if he needed to. And it _was_ a common occurrence for Alphas to get like that with a distressed Omega, but he guessed Hunk was just a generally caring person with everyone who was crying their eyes out.

“Yeah, I’m just- I wanna go home.”

“I can drive you. I’ll give Shay a quick text and we could go right ahead. Unless you want her here, she can help you.”

“N-no. I don’t want that right now.” He rubbed his eyes and cursed himself for crying even more at the thought of the two of them seeing him like that. “I mean, thanks. But not right now.”

Hunk still looked worried, but he resigned himself. “Have you got a ride?”

Keith searched for a name in his head desperately. It’s not like he had a long list of friends to begin with. One he left in the backyard, and one was busy making out with some Omega. And he couldn’t call Shiro. No. Shiro wouldn’t understand, Shiro would go on lockdown because he thought that was best for Keith. And maybe it was. What did Keith know? He let himself become the laughingstock of a frat with a nickname as stupid as _APE House_.

Suddenly, he remembered someone else. They promised each other — any serious shitty situation and they would have to come get the other, no questions asked. He would come if Keith called, hopefully. He _had_ to, right?

“I can call Lotor.”

“You sure about that?”

“I’m sure.”

It took a bit more to get Hunk to leave him alone (but not without promising to give him or Shay a quick text when he got home safely and to call them if he needed help with anything else). Once he was alone, Keith started making his way to the lake across the frat house, anywhere where there wasn’t any people. And he tapped Lotor’s contact.

**emergency. lake in front of ape house. please come pick me up**

Keith. Saturday, 11:46 PM.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so here for Jaybele's [Daft Pretty Boys AU](http://jaybele.tumblr.com/tagged/daft-pretty-boys-au) so I lowkey based Shay from there. Also guys go check her out because I love her art. (Also if Jaybele herself reads this and wants me to take it out I can, because I'm kinda conscious about crossing any lines ownership here)
> 
> Yeah, gonna try to advance the plot real quick by adding to the list of problems. Not beta-ed, as usual. But I will get to editing to errors later on (and probably in my earlier chapters too because I've been writing 'cause' instead or ''cause' in a lot of them).
> 
> (Also have you noticed I haven't used line breaks in between scenes for this entire chapter. Man, the events here were just so smooth to write, so I hope it can be read the same way for a reader)


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew okay let's just pretend there's a big ass 'THREE WEEKS EARLIER' or something written in the start of this chapter because I decided I wanted to squeeze in more details before going back to the frat house party timeline. Check the end notes for a long explanation of why I've been dead to the world for the past few weeks btw

To be honest, it only took Lance a month into his strange relationship with Keith to admit that it probably wasn’t his best idea. Not that he would ever admit that to Hunk and Pidge, who were already wary and had plenty of reasons to expect a likely fucked up outcome out of their agreement.

The sex was still mind-blowing and he couldn’t deny that he really liked spending time with Keith even when they had their pants on. But there was always a certain point where Keith would shut off any sort of advance they might have in terms of friendship and immediately proceed to tricking his mind into forgetting by suggesting a blowjob or something.

He didn’t notice the first few times. But it was kind of hard to forget asking about Keith’s high school experience and being shot down five different times.

There was an absolutely concise list of things Keith was actually okay talking about, and Lance was mostly just tiptoeing around them like he was in the middle of a minefield. Sometimes he takes his chances and tries to delve into a deeper, more personal level with Keith. And rarely does it end the way he wants it to.

And maybe he was to blame because he was the type of person who, knowing they had a likelihood to get attached, went into a no-strings relationship anyway. Unlike Keith, who seemed perfectly fine spending intimate moments with someone who was a complete stranger to him just a couple months earlier and then cutting ties the moment it felt _too_ personal.

And Lance couldn’t blame Keith for that. It wasn’t like the Omega was some snow-queen who didn’t care about anyone at all and regarded any display of genuine human emotion as a sign of weakness. Keith deeply cared about his family, if the way he cherished Shiro was any indication. He trusted people like Pidge and Matthew Holt and even Lotor (even though Lance still hasn’t been clued in on the details of their strange relationship… not that he’s one to talk).

Keith had people he cared about. It just so happened that Lance wasn’t quite part of it.

The urge to finally speak up about looming questions regarding their relationship was still present, they always were. But recently, Lance has seen them pile up like Jenga, threatening to fall from even the most miniscule idiotic mistakes.

He almost hit his peak around two weeks ago, when him and Keith made a stop to his dorm before heading to a bar. A quick pit stop which stretched into quite a long period of time that found them both panting on top of Lance’s sheets.

“Fuck, that felt good…” Keith had a sated smile on his face as he rolled his hips rhythmically. Lance would’ve made fun of him if it weren’t making the same face. Or, you know, thrusting into him.

Some days there was no stopping them from tearing each other’s’ clothes like beasts once they shut the door behind (or sometimes even _before_ they closed the door, in some instances, since being with Keith had him developing some weird kinks). But the day’s been lazy. Lance was let out early so he called Keith up to hang out (Lance choose a horror movie that Keith ended up finding ‘too boring and predictable’), then they grabbed take-out on their way home and ate in Lance’s room.

If he didn’t know any better, he would even say it was like a date.

“O-Oh, _Lance_.”

The Alpha felt his fingers dig into Keith’s hips upon hearing the needy whine. It was rare that Keith would let him do all the work, often _demanding_ to be the one in charge of his own pleasure. Those times, Keith makes it rough and fast for both of them, drunk on adrenaline and their intermingling scent. But when Lance takes over, he finds that he doesn’t mind going gentle, pushing into Keith slowly until he was a moaning mess. And, to be honest, he thought Keith didn’t mind either.

Lance liked it slow, when they could feel every bit of each other’s heat. And all he had to focus on was each thrust into Keith’s tight entrance, each drag of his fingers against tingling skin, each soft noise the Omega let out under him before coming undone.

Keith seemed to recognize the look in his eye, because he was pulling Lance down with one hand and crashing their open mouths together. The Omega used his other hand to jerk himself off, no doubt knowing that Lance was close himself from how erratically their movements were getting.

Lance pulled away from the kiss just in time to let out a blissed out moan from his orgasm. He thrusted a few more times to ride it out, which pushed Keith to his own release with a soft cry.

No matter what kind of tone they set, what rhythm, what speed, things always seemed to end the same way. Keith’s body went limp on the bed as he became fully satisfied and Lance tiredly knocked their foreheads together as he went for another kiss.

Keith returned it as best he can, in his exhausted but giggly post-coital state. However, they both faltered when they felt a noticeable change where Lance was still inside Keith.

“Shit,” The Alpha cursed upon fully realizing what was happening. Knots didn’t often occur outside of heats or ruts. They’ve always made sure to use a condom, of course, so it could hardly result in anything other than a mild discomfort for the next twenty minutes.

Lance shifted into a more comfortable position, cradling Keith as they waited the knot out. Glancing at the Omega cautiously, Lance saw that he looked more amused than anything. “I don’t mind. I was gonna lie here for half an hour anyway,” Keith rolled his eyes as he reassured him.

“I’m just wondering why the fuck it happened. I mean, it never happened before.”

“You’re just a sap that _really_ likes slow sex. That’s why.”

Lance laughed and he felt Keith’s chest shake as he reacted to his own joke. Before he could even close his eyes for a short nap, a loud ringtone was blasting from the side of the bed, followed by the sound of a phone vibrating.

“Hey, that’s yours,” Keith nudged him.

“’M tired. And I can’t reach it.” He let out a yawn just to make his point. “Answer it, it’s probably Hunk.”

“Baby,” the Omega muttered as an insult before reaching over to grab his phone. “Hello?”

Keith’s eyes widened in surprise, and it had Lance looking up in worry. _Who is it_ , he mouthed, but Keith seemed to focus on the conversation he was having.

“Uh, no, sorry. This is Lance’s friend. He’s…” there was a pause to briefly glance down their sweaty bodies “… busy right now.”

Keith remained tight-lipped and rigid while he was nodding along to whatever the person on the other line was saying. “Okay, okay. I’ll tell him, ma’am.”

Just when the conversation seemed to be coming to an end, with Lance itching to get some answers, Keith tightened his grip on the phone. “Oh? Um… My name is Keith. We have some classes together… Thank you, ma’am. I’ll be sure to think about it. Have a nice day too.”

“What? Who is it?” Lance questioned once Keith ended the call.

“Uh… it was your mom.” Keith awkwardly looked away. “She said something about your flight date for Christmas.”

“Fuck, I forgot to call her about that. Sorry, I guess she was just worried.”

“…She also invited me over to visit with you and Hunk if I’m ever interested.”

Lance groaned and buried his head into Keith’s hair embarrassingly. “Don’t mind her, she says that to all my friends.”

There was still a tangible tension in the air and Keith squirmed a bit in unease. “You didn’t tell her about us, did you?”

“No! Of course not, that would get awkward. I mean, yeah I tell her everything but obviously I left out anything about regularly fucking someone who isn’t my mate.”

Instead of being calming, the remaining minutes of silence became draining for Lance. He found himself desperately wishing that the knot would go back down to normal faster so that they could both get up and cool off without having to be near each other.

Once the feeling of being able to move again returned, Lance sighed in relief and pulled out, quickly tying up the condom and discarding it in a trash bin nearby. Keith had already tied his hair up and grabbed his clothes from the table.

“Mind if I take a shower?” The Omega turned back to face him.

“Go ahead.”

Had the day gone differently, Lance would’ve offered to join him. But he knew Keith was still shaken from what happened, so he let him have his time alone. It was probably for the best.

 

* * *

 

 

The walk to the bar had been almost awkward. Without Lance igniting the conversation, Keith didn't seem to be very keen on sharing any words while walking to their destination. Lance had wondered if it was because he was comfortable with the silence, or if he simply had no clue how to start a conversation. Which was disappointing, to say to the least, that after all the time they had spent together, Keith was still awkward about starting a conversation with him.

Once they walked through the entrance and their bodies were bathed in neon colors, Keith appeared to liven up and immediately made a beeline for the dance floor. By then, Lance was already all too familiar with just how good of a dancer Keith was, how alluring his movements were, and how often his performance resulted in one or more strangers coming up to him in curious attraction.

But he wasn't in the mood. He settled for a stool near the bar and offered to order their drinks instead.

“You sure, Lance?” Keith was still smiling (and how could he not when he was in his most natural habitat: loud places with a lot of drunk people), though it didn't seem to reach his eyes.

“Yeah. But I'm chugging your drink down if you take too long.”

The Omega sent him one more of his unsure smiles and made his way to the brightly lit dancefloor. Soon, he was sensually moving his body to the rhythm and putting on quite a show for Lance. The Alpha chuckled at that, rarely did Keith do well in normal social interactions — a trait he found unexpectedly adorable from someone who could've and would've uttered the most obscene things into his ear without a trace of unease — but he was a natural at being the center of attention when it came to these places.

When Keith put out his best, no one could help but give him nothing less than their complete undivided attention. Lance certainly couldn't.

The bartender behind him slid him their orders (he knew just how Keith liked his cocktails, since it wasn't the first time he's had to order for him), and Lance soon found himself preoccupied with his phone.

Preoccupied enough that he didn't catch the Beta that took a seat next to him and tried to call out his name over the roaring music.

“Lance McClain, right?” The stranger offered a friendly grin. Lance sent one back, nodding.

He's definitely seen him around before in campus. With his light hair and green eyes, the Beta didn't look half bad.

“Yeah. And you're Evan Sanders, right? I think we met in the Philosophy department.”

“Yeah, we were both complaining about probably having to take Iverson’s class for a prerequisite,” the Beta recalled with an impish expression, “which I heard you ended up in.”

Their conversation went the usual way, small talk about courses and majors being tossed out. While the Beta was distracted, Lance’s gaze went up and down his body, noting that he was somewhat close to his type anyway. At the thought of how well they were getting along, it occurred to him just how long it's been since he's slept with anyone aside from Keith the past few months. Not that it was a goal, but it became alarmingly clear that, although they didn't set up any monogamy rule in their weird relationship, Lance sure had been upholding it. He only wondered if Keith had been too, even though he knew  the Omega was, in no way, obligated to since such a rule didn’t exist anyway.

Thoughts of Keith barreled in when the Omega suddenly made his way back to where Lance was to grab his drink. Covered with a light sheen of sweat and looking high on adrenaline, Keith almost didn't notice the Beta until Lance introduced him.

“Oh, hey,” Keith greeted with a definite lack of enthusiasm. He looked more interested in the brightly-lit dancefloor, barely sparing two seconds to look at the stranger.

“I'm Evan Sanders. We had Biology II together, though I was sitting in the back so you probably didn't notice.”

Keith's eyes briefly glanced Beta’s way before darting back towards the view of dancing bodies. “Huh, I guess not.”

Lance bit the inside of his cheek in mild annoyance, hoping Keith wouldn't end up being too rude and scaring off a potential partner. But the Omega was soon hastily handing Lance his drink again and leaving with a routine kiss on the cheek. Lance just responded with a roll of his eyes and placed the glass down before coming to the realization that they had done that in front of a third party.

Kisses from Keith were more than common at that point. Sometimes it turned heated, sometimes it was full of the burning passion they both seemed to have a never-ending supply of, but it had become a rather ordinary thing as of late. It had become the way Keith greeted him, the way to say good bye. Almost chaste, in a way.

Lance had grown so used to it he hardly stopped to consider the significance or meaning behind it. Especially from the perspective of another person.

His eyes widened as he mentally searched for an explanation, but the guy next to him seemed to beat him to it. “Oh, the rumors are true then. That you two are dating.” The Beta raised his eyebrow at him.

“Uh, well, not exactly. I mean, this sounds weird, but that was not what it looks like.”

“So… you're not exclusive?”

Lance winced at his tone, knowing that all his chances with the Beta had been reduced to dust. “I _guess_ you can say that.”

Without batting an eyelash, Evan’s mood shifted and he instantly brightened up. “Great. I thought things were going to get way more complicated.”

_Back on track, then._

Lance put on a reassuring smile and leaned a little closer to try his best to remedy the situation. “Of course not, Keith doesn't mind.”

“That’s awesome! ‘Cause me and my buddy Alex were wondering if he was taken. I mean, I don't wanna overstep any boundaries here. It's just that we both had our eye out for him for a while and we're kinda hoping you’d be interested in sharing, you know.”

At that, his smile fell and his eyebrows shot up in surprise. Then down in a slightly more dangerous emotion. “What do you mean?” Lance tried his best not to spit out the words, hoping that his confused tone would at least cover up any malice the statement held. He wasn't sure, of course. It had to be a misunderstanding, a slip-up the Beta could easily correct so that they can get back to their normal conversation.

“Oh, unless you’d want to be there. Of course, we don't really mind, and you had him first so you can set the rules I guess.” The Beta shrugged it off, appearing as nonchalant as ever even though Lance was glaring daggers at him and dangerously close to do so much more.

A _threesome_. He was asking for Lance's permission so that he and his lousy friend could get it on with Keith, as if Lance had _any_ say in who Keith-

“ _Listen_ ,” the words sounded clipped and downright furious “I'm not Keith's owner or some shit, I don't have the right to just give you the permission to his body. And neither does any other damn person in this planet. What even makes you _think_ he'd be interested in you two?”

A challenging spark of anger lit in the Beta’s eyes, but it quickly died down. “Hey, you don't need to get territorial, I was just asking. And it definitely seems like nothing new to him. I heard he took two guys from a frat party at the same time. He's used to it.”

“Dude, you need to grab your shit and _leave_.” Lance growled out as he glanced protectively at Keith, who was still dancing along to the beat obliviously. “Keith is not just up for grabs like that. He's not a fucking prize.”

The Beta narrowed his eyes and stood up, his height almost coming equal to Lance’s. “Well, he fucking dresses like one.”

Lance then decided, in his half intoxicated and emotionally unstable state, to let go of his glass as his clenched fist made contact with the Beta’s smug face.

 

* * *

 

“God, drunk Alphas are _so_ unbelievable sometimes.” Keith rolled his eyes while he applied medicine to Lance's bruises as best as he can (he had a first-aid kit in his apartment but he said he hardly knew how to use it). “I can't believe we're banned from that place just because you got into some stupid fight.”

Lance stared down dejectedly, letting Keith nurse his bruised face as he replayed the night's events. The fight was more like a big blur to him since the alcohol did nothing but help muffle his senses. All he remembered was Keith cutting in when he was already bruised and battered, pulling him away to slap some sense into him.

Any other night, he wouldn't have even known what could've possessed him to start a fight. Even as an Alpha, he was hardly the physical type and he tried as much as possible to stay a pacifist. But every time he recalled the crude way the Beta was talking about Keith, red blinds his vision once more.

“Don't tell me you're still mad about it?” Keith laughed with a tinge of nervousness as he packed away the medical supplies. Then he plopped to the bed next to Lance and smirked at him. “I was just kidding. Besides, we can spend the night doing something else.”

With that, he leaned in and slotted his lips perfectly into Lance's, something they had perfected from having practiced it so many times before. Lance let go for a moment and let Keith push him down the bed, the eager Omega rolling on top of him as they heatedly made out.

“You gotta make it up to me because I lost a chance with everybody else in the bar tonight.” Keith said as he let out a giggle, nimble hands going down to tug on Lance's jeans. “Come on, I'm still loose from our last round, _Alpha_.”

Keith hungrily kissed him again, grabbed the Alpha's hand (which was previously just awkwardly settle on his side), and brought it up to his ass.

That was nothing new. Often they would joke about having other partners even when they were with each other in bed. And it wasn't supposed to mean anything, it wasn't supposed to _hurt_. But all Lance could think about, while he was being showered with kisses from Keith, was how Keith had touched all those other Alphas before. How he wouldn't have been opposed to going home with someone else that night. How, had Lance not ruined it by starting a distraction, Keith would be sensually whispering the same things to some other stranger's ear, all without the care that Lance would be affected. It was hypocritical to even judge Keith when he had been making the same plans to go home with somebody else before. But it didn't seem to register to his head as the only thoughts that ran through him was how much Keith's touch burned.

He found himself pushing the Omega back. And it was only when a brief expression of confusion and hurt flashed across Keith's face that he fully came to realize the effects of the action.

“I think I should head home for tonight.” Lance couldn't bring himself to keep looking into Keith's wide eyes, so he stared at the floor.

Silence stretched between them, the Keith slowly pulled his hands away and peeled himself off of Lance's body. “Oh. Sure.”

“I mean, Shiro's probably gonna be back soon too. So we won't have time.” Lance looked up hopefully and gave a small laugh to release the heavy tension in the air, but Keith wasn't looking at him.

“Okay.”

Opting to get out of bed before things progressed anymore, Lance went to grab his things. Keith had started awkwardly fixing his bed without looking at him, and it hurt him to part in such a bad way, but he knew it what had to be done to make things clear.

_We are not mates._

_We need to start acting like it._

“I'll see you on Monday,” Lance hesitantly added before he made his way through the bedroom door (he always let himself out on nights like these, especially when Keith was too tired to).

“See you,” Keith muttered back, giving him a small smile before the door shut between them.

 

* * *

 

Gradually, Lance has been growing back his roots.

Taking a step back, it was easy to see just how attached he grew to Keith in a mere matter of months. Just how much his life revolved around him.

But Lance took small steps. Like going to parties without Keith or openly flirting and acting upon his attraction towards other people. And it wasn't the best idea to try to use other people in order to grow less attached with one, but Lance could only hope it was working somewhat.

Try as he might, though, the guilt of betraying Keith in some way still lingered when he went as close as thinking about sleeping around again.

The distance helps, sometimes. And the alcohol definitely does too, in numbing his senses. Then he forgets about the Omega for a while and can pretend he was the same Lance he was months ago, before meeting Keith and becoming his designated long-term booty call.

Which was why he wasn't at all opposed to getting more than a little comfortable with a cute Omega (who he learned was named Arthur) in the middle of an APE House Party.

Probably not the smartest idea, since the frat house has always been notorious for its hardcore drinking and he doubted anyone ever left an APE House Party 100% sober.

It helped that Keith had left early on too, so there was hardly anything there to distract him.

“Lance, this is Arthur and Kelsey. We interned in the same place.” Jason, a Beta he knew, tried his best to introduce the three over the loud music. The girl Kelsey lit up immediately, proceeding to reply with her own perky greeting before taking a seat across Jason.

Lance felt a nudge to his side and looked up to find a slender Omega dressed in tight, dark clothes and sporting an amused smile. “You’re Lance from the gym, right?”

Just then, a spark of recognition lit between them and Lance remembered seeing the Omega from the volleyball team, which regularly practiced every weekday on the ninth floor. It was the floor just above where he used to swim in the first few terms. Back then, he remembered getting an unexplainable giddiness from the thought of the cute Omegas from the volleyball team possibly getting a glimpse of him in the pool.

“Yeah, but I haven’t been there to swim in ages.”

“Shame, the volleyball team really missed seeing you there.” A glint of something else shined in the Omegas eyes, then he gestured to the seat right next to Lance. “Mind if I sit here?”

He figured Keith wasn't coming back anytime soon (if he was coming back at all), and he knew that he wanted to impress the new Omega anyway — so he enthusiastically shook his head. “Not at all.”

 

* * *

 

 

He could feel the Omega losing interest in him (or, at least, feigning to lose interest) the moment Keith’s name was brought up. Jason didn’t mean to, but he let slip that Lance had brought along another Omega to the party, which had Arthur pursing his lips and Kelsey piping in immediately.

“ _Oh_ , is it Keith Kogane? Are you two, like, together? Because I definitely heard that.”

Lance tried his best to laugh it off, but even that came off as awkward. “No, we aren’t. It was probably just a misunderstanding.”

The conversation transcended into whole new levels of awkward when Keith came back and saw him practically inching towards the Omega he was currently flirting with.

He figured Keith would understand. Well, it was what fuck buddies were meant for anyway. If they weren’t a fuck, they had to be a buddy and being a buddy means not getting in the way of your friend’s chances at scoring with a certain pretty-looking Omega from the volleyball team.

Lance tried to direct most of his attention to Arthur, or the conversation, at least. So as to distract them from bringing the topic of Keith and Lance’s relationship into the table already. He had only slipped up when Keith appeared way too off-kilter and had excused himself from the conversation. Worry tugged at his chest, but he knew that Keith would come to him if there was any real trouble. For now, there was a willing Omega at his side who was casting him playful smirks and leaning into his body.

Things spiraled out of control when Jason said something about a fight going on and left with Kelsey (who looked overly eager with her iPhone out to probably immortalize every detail). Somehow in the very little period of time they spent alone after the others left, alcohol basically drove them into abandoning small talk and finding _other_ uses for their mouths.

Lance was glad to find out the attraction hadn’t been one-sided, at least. Throughout the night, they have been beating around the bush with conversations about trivial matters when they should’ve been acting out what Lance wanted to do the first time he caught sight of the cute Omega clad in volleyball shorts in the gym.

Arthur was already moaning into his lips and lightly grinding down on him when Lance hooked a strong arm around his waist. In their secluded little corner (and with the added benefit of someone apparently starting enough drama to lure most people out of the living room), they were free to let their hands wander as the Omega boldly pushed his tongue past Lance’s mouth.

His mind was already hazy by the time he realized they were crashing into a bed, in a different place. When he looked up, they weren’t in the living room anymore. He didn’t have much time to take in his unfamiliar surroundings before Arthur was pulling him down to resume their heated exchange.

“Someone’s eager,” he joked as he palmed the condom in his back pocket.

“Someone’s prepared,” the Omega jokingly retorted after seeing what he was fiddling with. The smile turned into a loud moan as Lance dived in for his bare neck. “Come on, Lance. I need you.”

Kicking off his pants and helping the Omega do the same, he caught the sound of his phone vibrating in one of his pockets. Before he could forget his agenda (as if he could, this deep into it), the Omega’s slim fingers were sliding around his length and pumping him enthusiastically.

 _Whoever it is, they can wait_ , his mind reasoned as he was pulled into a passionate high, cradling Arthur’s hips and drinking in the sound of sweet cries when he pushed inside him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I swear I didn't mean to delay this chapter so much because I was also really excited about getting to it (tho it doesn't cover what happened to Keith after the party but I'll get to that in the next one), but a lot of shit happened so without further ado:
> 
> 1\. Typhoon whatever hit the Philippines so my WiFi was cut off and I've been living like a caveman and camping out in cafes using whatever traces of internet I could connect to;  
> 2\. And I had to get an x-ray because of some school requirements and they found some weird results with my lungs so;  
> 3\. I've been going back and forth between hospitals because my mom's basically freaking out over it.
> 
> Which sucks because my mom did some research and apparently it's linked to asbestos exposure which is something found in some of my art materials. Well, I don't know, we're not really sure yet which makes my mom even MORE nervous. Anyway, I still have an appointment tomorrow so I wanted to get this chapter out before that. And I was tempted to write an especially long chapter because I delayed it so much so here you go


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: mention of non-consensual sex.
> 
> I don't go into detail and I don’t include any graphic scenes, but it is still heavily implied.

Lotor first met Keith in the middle of a Halloween party.

It wasn’t the first time he’s seen him. Hardly the first time he’s heard the name. Their private school was elite and rather smaller in terms of population in comparison to regular American public schools (obviously). Word got around quickly, especially when it involved Omegas with the same background Keith was from.

He heard when he first started school there that there was this sophomore Omega that the seniors invited to their parties. Supposedly, he had a reputation for opening his legs for anyone and was a hell lot of fun when it came to drinking.

Lotor was uncomfortably perched on a living room couch when he first saw the Omega in action. Keith Kogane was dressed in some cheesy costume that revealed miles of his pale legs and probably left little to imagination. He was glancing up prettily at all the seniors and giving the people around him playful smirks. He looked like he practically perfected the art of drawing moths to a flame.

Lotor, at that point, had already accepted his fate. He didn’t care for Omegas, much less the kind that drunkenly drape themselves all over Alpha seniors. Fortunately for him, his assembled army of goons seemed to take his disinterest as a sign of his experience with all sorts of lovers. He quickly gained the reputation of ‘too good for high school Omegas’, letting them run their imaginations wild with rumors that he preferred hooking up with much more experienced college Omegas. None of it was true, but he could hardly care to correct them since they elevated his status in the campus to astronomical heights.

To his surprise and displeasure, someone had thought it was a good idea to dump the tipsy Omega on him.

“This one’s good, I promise,” an unfamiliar Alpha (Lotor didn’t have room in his brain for names from such meaningless people, after all) assured him as he smiled lewdly. Keith giggled and seemed to take his silence as a sign of acceptance. Not a second later, Lotor found himself being eagerly kissed by the Omega.

Lotor expected the night to end up the same way most did whenever an Omega or Beta approached him. He would spare them from further humiliation by straight up rejecting them. Some of them cried, some raged because it was probably a blow to their pride. But most understood. He was the untouchable Alpha, after all. And they would all move on.

Instead Keith later passed out from intoxication (not before puking right into his shoes) and Lotor was forced to look through his phone and call one of the recent contacts.

_ “Hello, Mister… Ta-ka-shi?” _

_ “Hello. Who is this?” The voice on the other side sounded gruff, maybe even irritated. It was understandable, however, since it was three am at the time of the call and he was a stranger to the man. _

_ “My name is Lotor. I’m calling because Keith Kogane passed out in a party.” _

_ Lotor didn’t know Keith’s connection with this man. It could be his friend, father, or mate, but the Omega would no doubt receive quite a punishment. Regardless, he knew that any punishment was better than what possible fate an inebriated Omega could face in such a defenseless position. _

_ “I’ll be there in half an hour. Text me his location.” _

 

* * *

 

 

Omegas, for all society’s ever cared to tell him while growing up, were hardly strong creatures. They flinched at the threat of violence, shied away from positions of powers, and were meant to be protected and dominated.

To his dismay, that was  _ his  _ truth for a long time.

He suspected it’s the reason he hardly felt interest, much less attraction, towards any Omegas (though, now he knows that everyone was on an equal playing field, he just happened to have a preference for  _ only  _ Alphas).

So when he and Keith became friends, it was easy to act like he was just another Alpha. It almost felt natural because of the way he carried himself. Keith was a peculiar case, he had a spitfire personality, wasn’t afraid to stand out of line when against anybody, and he never acted like he was in a disadvantage in any situation. It was easy to identify him as the outlier.

They formed somewhat of an unconventional friendship. They stuck to each other like glue, watched each other’s backs. More than a year later, Lotor even confided in Keith about his attraction towards Alphas, a secret the Omega kept for him.

Keith was elevated to ‘untouchable’ status and worshiped by nearly everyone in campus, much like Lotor. However, unlike him, nobody cared if Keith’s power was all self-earned. There were whispers about their relationship, suspicion that Keith only got to where he was because they were secretly fucking behind everyone’s backs.

Keith didn’t seem to care about the lies people around campus spread as long as they respected him, apparently. By the end of junior year, he was reigning over the school in spite of being an Omega.

Lotor knew better than to belittle his friend then. But he has failed see him as anything more than a one-dimensional godlike creature the students around him constructed.

Until a panicked Keith showed up in his place one night, drenched head-to-toe in rain and shivering from the cold.

For once, he was glad his parents were not home for the holidays, that they had only left him with the mansion and the housemaids as company. The Omega was quickly led away to dry off and then offered a place to stay for the night in one of the many vacant bedrooms that were available.

That night, a red-nosed Keith drowned out the sounds of his sobs in Lotor’s shoulder.

_ “I told him to stop, he didn’t listen,” he explained in a thin, shaky voice. "...and-and now I have to get tested. This is so fucked up.” _

_ The Alpha silently listened, trying his best to project comforting pheromones as he cradled the shaking Omega. In truth, he couldn’t talk. His throat felt tight and constricted. He didn’t know what to say, what to do. He wanted to apologize, but he knew that would do no good. _

_ After he digested the information, he knew they had to visit a doctor right away. Keith was rightfully hesitant but agreed under terms of strict secrecy anyway. Lotor then called in one of the family’s chauffeur (one he was sure was loyal enough not to spread stories) and took Keith to a trusted private hospital. _

_ The other responsible step was to file a report. But it was tossed out of the window as soon as Lotor brought it up. _

_ “I don’t want to. I can’t.” Keith looked frantic as he shook his head. _

_ “They might help,” Lotor firmly reasoned. Perhaps too firmly. His friend hardly seemed to want to listen to reason, even if it was the safe thing to do. But he knew what Keith’s just been through, so he calmed himself and tried again in a more soothing tone. “He hurt you, and he could hurt others. So we can locate him and let the police handle it.” _

_ “But it wasn’t- it wasn’t like that.  _ I  _ said wanted it, as long as he pulled out in the end. I just didn’t expect him to knot me.” Shame filled his eyes and Keith’s gaze locked down on the dirty tiled floor. “And I lied to him too. I told him I was older, so it’s not his fault if he thought I could’ve handled it.” _

_ “Keith, listen to me. It doesn’t matter if he thought you were older, if he chose to knot you against your will then it  _ is  _ his fault.” _

_ The Omega was silent for a long time as they sat next to each other in the empty hospital reception hall. It was still raining outside, and the sound filled of raindrops hitting the pavement seemed to echo through the halls of the building. _

_ “...I’ll do it after we get the results.” _

_ A week later, Lotor accompanied Keith to the hospital again to go through multiple STI tests and one pregnancy test. After receiving all the negative results, they sat stone faced in the same reception hall as patients, doctors, and nurses milled about. _

_ “I’m going to file a report,” Keith announced in a hushed voice with stern finality. “But you can’t tell my parents.” _

_ “I don’t think this is a good idea. And they might tell your parents anyway.” _

_ “I’ll tell them to call Shiro. Shiro’s an adult. Just...” Keith looked down as he trailed off, absentmindedly fiddling with the fabric of his shirt, “no one needs to know” _

 

* * *

 

 

**I’ll be there soon.**

Lotor. Saturday, 11:58 PM.

**ok**

Keith. Saturday, 11:59 PM.

As soon as he read Keith’s text ten minutes from midnight, he grabbed his coat and his car keys.

It was one of those rare nights when he was actually home and not passed out drunk somewhere. It was one of those nights that he didn’t think he’d have to anxiously drive twenty minutes in chilling silence while he tried to locate his friend who was possibly stuck in a situation dangerous enough that he had to call back-up.

As he drove through the street adorned with multiple fraternity and sorority houses, his eyes searched for one familiar building. At the sight of the tall building with flags decorating the entrance, Lotor hastily parked his car out of sight and headed on foot to the lake downhill from it.

Sure enough, Keith was there hugging his legs tight as he sat on the grass. He was so quiet that Lotor almost didn’t notice his presence.

“Thanks for coming.” Looking up, the Omega offered him a weak smile. But they could hardly see each other in the dark anyway.

Lotor sighed and knelt to offer his hand. “Come on, beautiful. Let’s take you home.”

The Omega obediently followed but kept his head ducked down as they trudged their way back up to the road. Once inside the car, Lotor handed Keith an extra jacket he stored inside.

“Thanks,” he mumbled.

“Yeah.” Lotor just nodded and started the engines. For a while the constant hum distracted them from the music and cheers spilling out of the fraternity house’s windows and entrances.

“I mean it, though. Thanks for this. I know we aren’t really talking, so I didn’t expect you to come.”

“Just because we were arseholes to each other doesn’t mean I won’t offer help when you need it.” Lotor idly tapped the steering wheel and spared a side glance at his shivering friend. “Do you want to talk about what happened?”

Keith seemed to shake his head but decide against it as he spoke his next words. “Just Alphas being Alphas,” he responded forlornly as he was dwarfed by a jacket that was several sizes too large for him.

“Who was it?”

“Rolo.”

The Alpha winced at his answer, knowing that Rolo had been one of the few Alphas in the campus that Keith held some semblance of respect and fondness for. Keith never did talk about the time they slept together in detail (not that Lotor wanted him to), but Lotor’s seen him making heart eyes at the older Alpha during their casual interactions, even if Keith himself wouldn’t admit it. “Wow, I actually trusted that one.”

Keith sneezed and then nodded afterwards. The conversation could’ve easily slowed into a stop then and there, so that they could ride out the rest of the trip in silence. But Lotor was no insensitive fool, he knew when things needed to be done.

“About our fight, I apologize. It was wrong of me to lash out on you.”

Instead of offering his own apology (Lotor didn’t have a heart of gold, so of course he expected Keith to offer a reciprocation since his words that night were also unnecessarily offensive), the Omega just turned to him. “Why  _ did  _ you lash out in the first place?”

He felt a spark of annoyance at the question but tried to quell it as soon as possible. It  _ was  _ still his fault for acting foul in the first place.

And it was no easy task for him to tell the truth either. It never was.

It was hard to come to terms that — despite all the times he’s seen Keith have his secondary gender used against him, despite the discrimination and abuse he’s seen other Omegas face  — a small part of Lotor still  _ envied  _ him.

It felt like a dark thought. For one, Keith never asked to be born an Omega, no Omega did. They worked with what they got and Lotor knew he should respect that. Secondly, he was an Alpha. Every time he imagined posing this question to the public, he imagined their response.

_ What is there to envy when you are an Alpha? What more could you want? _

He hated it. Because when he saw the Omegas that walked alongside their Alphas while lacing their hands together, saw the Omegas that giggled among their friends in excitement when an Alpha courted them, saw the Omegas that daydreamed about the  _ perfect  _ mate and the  _ perfect  _ dream wedding and the  _ perfect  _ children — he just knew there was so much more he wanted. And he was ready to trade anything for it.

“The night in Rolo’s party, the Alpha that I kissed-” Lotor was obviously not sure as to how to phrase the next few words, “-he didn’t just leave afterwards.”

Keith stayed quiet and nodded along patiently. So he continued, “He apologized for dropping mixed signals. But he said that the only reason he wanted to get to know me was because he was interested in you.”

“I’m-”

“ _ Don’t _ say you’re sorry,” Lotor immediately snapped, cheeks growing hot in shame at the memory of that experience. Good thing his eyes were on the empty road and not at the Omega, he couldn’t stand to be faced with pity at the moment. “It was out of your control. And I should’ve been grateful that he was at least a gentleman about it by not spreading the word.”

“I’m sorry anyway,” Keith retorted firmly, “that I wasn’t there to help you in time.”

A red light came into view and Lotor was given time to lean back in his seat. “I’ve seen the way some Alphas see you as the perfect mate. How they would look at you. And I knew that that would never happen to me, or to anyone like me. And it just made me… madder.”

Keith turned in his seat and gently touched his arm. When Lotor looked at him, his eyes were wide with concern. “That’s not true. You’re gonna find someone, I swear. You’re gonna find someone and they’re going to be everything you dreamed of.”

“But what if I dreamed of things we can’t have?” The Alpha tightened his grip on the wheel and tried his best not to growl in frustration. “What if I want to take them home to family dinners and hold hands with them in public and not have to keep everything a secret? Let me tell you, my parents will disown me and I’ll have no one to turn to.”

“You can turn to me,” Keith offered hopefully, “me and Shiro. My family… my family knows how much you mean to me. They know you’ve helped me through shitty situations so they won’t hesitate to help you out of anything.”

Lotor was panting like he’s just ran a marathon. But when his breathing slowed and his heart calmed, he was able to pull his senses back together. Soon he noticed a significant weight lifted off of his shoulders. The tables turned and Keith was the one projecting comforting pheromones in the air, an innate trait he’s always been surprisingly skilled at (though he’s never seen Keith use it with anyone except Shiro before).

A small smile graced his face at the thought. Keith, who didn’t want to associate himself as a stereotypical Omega was every bit as nurturing and caring as one if need be.

“Thank you, Keith.”

 

* * *

 

Sending a quick explanation text to Shiro’s inbox, Lotor drove Keith to his condominium to spend the night.

It was definitely something excluded from most college students’ options and not the most convenient location since it was a half hour drive away from campus. But, since Lotor’s parents demanded he received the best at all times, he got a condo unit to himself and was able to live a luxurious life devoid of nosy roommates (nosy brothers, in Keith’s case) and cramped living spaces.

Few residents were up that late at night, but the few that were cast them curious glances. From every point of view, seeing a miserable, disheveled Omega was a sore sight. And although he could tell Keith was trying his best, the distress was still clear in his scent. Lotor even caught a lady glaring at him as if she suspected  _ he  _ was the perpetrator.

Upon reaching Lotor’s unit, the Alpha hung up his coat and gestured Keith to do the same. Most of it was unnecessary, however, since Keith’s already been to Lotor’s place enough times before to become somewhat familiar with it.

He opened the cupboards in his search for a cup. He had forgot to bring water on his trip back to campus because he was in a hurry, but he knew he’d have to make Keith drink now in order to flush out any alcohol that was probably in his system.

“Thanks.” Keith took the cup with one hand and pulled out one of the dining chairs with the other. Lotor decided to do the same. And for a while, they just sat across each other in silence. “I’m okay with sleeping on the couch, by the way. So you can keep your bed.”

“Yes, I haven’t slept with Omegas before, don’t intend to start now,” Lotor joked, adding a fake sneer.

Unable to help himself, Keith rolled his eyes at the statement. Then let out a snort. Which developed into a quiet laugh. “Ouch, my poor pride. I guess I’ll have to hop into some other Alpha’s bed.”

Lotor chuckled along, chest feeling lighter at their back-and-forth banter. Keith no longer smelled distressed, but he still hadn't taken off Lotor's jacket and his face was still pale from the cold. Suddenly the Omega looked down shyly and a quite prominent blush spread through his face.

"Speaking of Alphas," Keith cleared his throat nervously, "You remember the Alpha I introduced you to that time in the Korean place? You know, Lance?"

"Doesn't ring a bell." Lotor raised his eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. "Oh, wait! Is he Shiro's friend? The one you said was a good kisser and had nice shoulders."

"I didn't say he has nice shoulders," The Omega sputters, then looks down. "Well, he does. But _I_ didn't say it."

Lotor's eyebrows went even further up that he swore they probably almost touched his hairline. He took in Keith's flushed face and awkward gestures. "Oh my god. Do you actually like him?"

"What does that- god, you sound like a sixth grader!"

"But you _do_." Lotor stared at his friend with wide, incredulous eyes. "Holy shit, you do. And I thought I'd never see the day."

Keith glared daggers at him and huffed in annoyance. "Shut up. I'm not sure, okay?"

"Well, if I knew how fast you could get someone in your bed and I _do_ — why aren't you dating yet? "

Uncertain eyes darted back down into the mug. A dark look crossed Keith's features, as if he remembered something bad. "We both said we don't want anything serious when we started. So I don't wanna change that, especially for feelings I'm not even sure about. After all," the Omega trailed off, "he's probably with another Omega right now."

"This is the first Alpha you considered actually dating in years. That means he did at least something right in your book."

"But," Keith's voice cracks in frustration, "I mean, you know what I've done. Other Alphas don't... _want_ that in a mate. You know I've given up a long time ago."

_Thinking about becoming mates already_ , Lotor thought in amusement, _Keith, I can't believe you can't see how far gone you are._

"Well, fuck other Alphas. And you don't need to think that far ahead. Why not just settle for a few experiment dates?" the Alpha shrugged as he suggested, Keith looked up again at the mention of his idea. "Just ask him if he's truly interested, then you can go and see if your attraction develops into something more. If he rejects you because of your past, then he is clearly not worth you time."

Still it was met with silence. Keith was obviously still lacking in encouragement, which Lotor didn't blame him for. Keith had plenty of reasons to abandon the aspect of going into a relationship with an Alpha.

"And if it doesn't work out... I'll help you through it."

When Keith gave him a soft smile, Lotor knew that the suggestion was taken into consideration. Keith rarely took gambles when it came to romance, because it was a field he was wholly inexperienced with. Keith was good at anything to do with sex, and that was because it was about power. But love was a messy game and Keith hardly knew the rules. Lotor just hoped he gave his friend hope to try one more time.

"You need a shower, you still smell like booze." Lotor stood from his chair and stretched. An exhausted yawn slipped past his lips and he suddenly felt how tired he was. "I'll leave a spare pillow and blanket for you on the couch."

Keith laughed and stood with him. "I'm too tired to shower. I think I'll just crash straight into your couch and fall sound asleep."

After he left to retrieve Keith's pillows and blanket, he returned to a sleeping Omega already draped on the couch. Lotor suppressed a laugh at the sight and just knelt down to carefully place the pillow below Keith's head, while removing his jacket — which the Omega used as a makeshift blanket — for a real blanket. Once he placed the finishing touch by strategically situating a bucket next to the couch (really, all the basics of caring for a drunk friend), Lotor deemed the job done and stood to return to his room, muttering a soft, "good night" that he was sure Keith already couldn't hear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick serious note: I'm not sure how well I handled the big issue here about rape. If you have suggestions you want to share about how I (and other writers) should tackle this, please leave them in the comments. Obviously, this portrayal probably wasn’t perfect and I want to fix that bec this is something I feel really strongly about. But just keep in mind that everyone has different experiences, so yours might not line up with this one.
> 
> Also, I covered a bit of Lotor’s internalized homophobia here (not sure if that’s the accurate term bec a/b/o makes everything messy). I tried my best and, since this is something I actually have experience with, pitched in my own (past) thoughts about my sexuality. This is another sensitive topic people often get wrong, so I’d love to hear your thoughts so I could improve.
> 
> Moving on, I spent around 4000 pesos on multiple tests just to be informed by the hospital that they accidentally switched my results and those symptoms were for another patient. God, all the panic was for nothing, now I am just wishing they inform the patient soon for their well-being. Anyway, I knew something was probably up bec the first few results came back negative. So I am good and healthy and still not allowed to drink alcohol but yeah life is normal.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One thing I am good at: Drama  
> One thing I'm not good at: Reconciliation

His feet were cold.

Although Lance wasn’t fully awake yet, he could also tell there was a hand draped over his naked chest and a body pressed up against his.

Immediately, almost instinctively, his mind supplied,  _ ‘Keith’ _ . And he leaned into the warmth.

Keith’s arms circled around him and a kiss was pressed against his neck. “Morning.” The smoky voice that greeted him sounded not at all like Keith’s sleep-laced, mumbly voice in the mornings. Memories of the few mornings they spent together were brought into his head, and suddenly all the details around him seemed wrong. The body heat, the feel of Keith's arms, and the sound of his breathing… it was all wrong. Lance was bombarded with an onslaught of memories from the night before.

_ The Omega who pulled him into one of the rooms during the party. _

“Fuck.”

“Strong hangover?” The sweet voice still called out to him from behind. Arthur was snug behind him and content tracing Lance’s skin.

_ Something like that _ , he responded bitterly in his head.

He couldn’t remember where he left Keith. Maybe Keith left on his own? His mind was foggy and every time he tried to grasp bits of crucial events last night, a painful sting would just numb him. Everything was a mess.

“Lance?” The Omega adapted a more helpless tone, and Lance’s heart broke a little in spite of himself. He knew where he went wrong last night, now he had to man up about it and lay out the harsh truth.

“Hey, uh… I think I should go.” He turned to face the Omega, who was fully roused from his sleep already and sitting up. His words brought clear confusion to Arthur. “I’m sorry. I’m sure you don’t deserve this, but last night was a mistake.”

Arthur’s expression turned stony and Lance was afraid he’d get hit for a second (which, admittedly, he absolutely deserved) but he just sighed and stared down at his open palms. “It’s that Keith guy, isn’t it?”

There was a lump in his throat. He was nervous about admitting it, even there, where they were likely far from Keith’s eyes and ears. He was still scared that somehow, Keith would find out and everything they built for the past few months would dissolve. “Yeah, it is.”

“I kind of had a clue.” He shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. “I mean, I saw the way he looked at you and I knew something had to be going on between you.”

_ Wait, how did Keith look at him? Was it something he has never noticed before? _

“I really wish I could make this up to you somehow. No one deserves to feel like a replacement.” Shame burning in his cheeks, Lance remembered years ago when the tables were turned. When he was the one being used for the sake of some cheap jealousy ploy. He didn’t want Arthur to feel that bad, didn’t want  _ anyone  _ to feel that bad.

“You can stop apologizing.” At that, he looked up. To his shock, the Omega was grinning and starting to get up from the bed. “I was only looking for a good fuck last night, and I got it. But what you were looking for last night, you obviously came to the wrong person for. So go and look for the right one.”

Arthur bent down (and Lance winced as he saw his movements falter from the obvious ache that was caused by their activities last night) and tossed him his shirt. Lance thanked the Omega more times than he could remember, both hastily combing their hair into place and locating each others’ clothes on the floor. Arthur smiled at him one more time and gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek before parting. Then Lance was on his own.

The house was in shambles after the party.

It looked even worse than the scene they walked into last night. Things were scattered everywhere and the floor was painted in liquor stains. Best of all, his path to the door was devoid of any conscious bodies. Everyone was either pass out drunk or already out of the premises.

Lance puffed out a breath of air as he exited the house and was slapped with the cold morning air. Checking his phone, he’s told it was four in the morning and he had around six messages and four missed calls. Two calls from Shay and the rest from Hunk. Stopping on the side of the road, he read everything.

 

**Hey I think keith’s in some trouble. Where r u?**

Hunk. Saturday, 11:48 PM.

**He was crying and I couldn’t calm him down. DID SOMETHING HAPPEN BETWEEN YOU TWO**

Hunk. Saturday, 11:50 PM.

**He said something about lotor picking him up. He said he’ll call when he’s home. Where are you???**

Hunk. Saturday, 11:56 PM.

**I’m calling Keith rn but he’s not answering. Do you know where he is?**

Hunk. Saturday, 12:17 PM.

**Goddamn Lance answer your phone**

Hunk. Saturday, 12:22 PM.

**Me and Shay are heading home. We’ll stop by Shiro’s to see if Keith got home safe. Where are you??**

Hunk. Saturday, 12:40 PM.

 

Lance cursed out loud and ran as fast as he could to Shiro’s apartment. He had to get a ride and check up on Keith, wherever he was. It wasn’t that far off, just somewhere outside campus.

As he ran, he pressed Hunk’s contact on his phone and prayed to every single god he knew that the other Alpha was awake and had found Keith safe and sound in Shiro’s apartment. “Hello,” a groggy voice greeted him.

“Hunk! Oh thank god, Hunk.” He pressed the phone to his face, panting into the device. “Did you get ahold of Keith last night?”

“Wha- Lance? What time is it?”

“ _ Hunk _ !”

“Okay, I got it. No, but I called Shiro and Shiro says he’s safe. He’s staying over at Lotor’s.”

His feet slowed into a stop, until he was just breathing heavily into the phone, giving up on running at all. “What?”

Hunk didn’t seem to notice his friend's inner turmoil and proceeded to bombard him with questions about the prior night. “Hey, man, where  _ were  _ you last night? I left you all those texts and stuff,” Hunk interrogated, “Please don’t tell me you pulled the cliche one-night-stand-in-a-frat-party move because seriously you can’t do that to Keith. Or, can you? I don’t know, I forgot the mechanics of your relationship. But seriously, you suddenly disappeared and I asked around and nobody-”

“Hunk!” He semi-yelled into the phone, looking around to make sure he was alone. “I was… with someone. It was wrong, I know. But I don’t see why Keith would have the right to judge, we’ve never said anything about monogamy.”

_ And I’m sure Lotor’s  _ loving  _ that aspect of our deal. _

“But-”

“Listen, I gotta go. I’ll explain everything later, man.” With that, he hung up, feeling all the energy drained from him after cutting the conversation. He wasn’t tired before. He ran like crazy because he thought Keith was in some kind of trouble. But the Omega was fine all along. Keith spent the night in Lotor’s place, probably not even sparing a minute thinking about Lance while he was with the other Alpha.

He felt an ugly feeling brewing inside him. From what he knew of Lotor, he knew the Alpha would no doubt be acting as a shoulder to cry on, especially if Keith was an vulnerable as Hunk’s texts suggested last night. He knew what type of Alpha Lotor was and he knew he was no good.

But, if Keith wanted him… who was  _ he _ to stop him? When Lance thought about it, he didn't really have much of a claim over what the Omega did. He was no mate or boyfriend.

_ But I'm Keith's friend. That has to count as something _ , Lance retorted.

With newfound determination, he scrolled through his contacts and looked for Keith's name.

 

* * *

After freshening up and collecting what little possessions he had in Lotor’s unit, they headed out for Shiro’s place again. Keith was well aware that Shiro would be gone for his flight upstate, where he would stay for two weeks for his research conference. It was a fact he relished in, since his brother wouldn’t be there breathing on his neck for the next couple days because of his absence last night.

He was nearly dozing off when Lotor piped up beside him in the driver’s seat, “Well,  _ this  _ is unexpected.”

They had turned a corner to the street Keith’s apartment was in, revealing a familiar Alpha waiting by the front door, with no Shiro in sight.

Keith’s heart skipped a beat at the sight of Lance. Sadly, his mind also chose that moment to bring him the memory of another Omega straddling Lance while kissing him just the night before. Almost immediately, signs of a smile disappeared from his face and it hardened into a distasteful scowl. “What is he doing here?”

“Probably here to play knight in shining armor,” Lotor teased, “I suppose my help won’t be necessary this time. I’ll wait inside then.”

The Omega took off his seat-belt the instant the engines went out and started racing out of the door. Lance stood abruptly at the sight of his friend, halting in his step only when he noticed the seemingly stormy atmosphere that surrounded the Omega. “Keith!”

“Lance, why are you here?”

“I- uh, I was checking up on you. Last night Hunk and I were trying to reach you but you didn’t answer anything. So I came here but,” he gestured to the apartment behind him, “no one was home. I texted you and said I’ll just wait here.”

His face flushed in embarrassment. Okay, he’d let that slide, only because was he in the wrong there. “Sorry, my phone died,” he reasoned, which, in fact, wasn’t a lie. His phone's power went out the moment he reached Lotor’s and he hasn’t thought of charging it since. “I didn’t get a chance to charge it at Lotor’s unit.”

After mentioning the other Alpha, Lance’s eyebrows furrowed and a deep frown formed in his face. Keith inwardly groaned. He didn’t want this to become a scene. The last thing he needed was two stubborn Alphas bickering and fighting based on nothing but misunderstandings. Thankfully, Lance wasn’t the violent type so he doubted he’d even throw a punch unless Lotor incessantly goaded him. (Which Lotor wouldn’t do.  _ Hopefully _ .)

"Keith, I didn't want to be the one to tell you, but I think you should stay away from Alphas who are only using you."

His anger flared dangerously and he leveled Lance with a death glare. "What the fuck does that mean?"

"I don't trust Lotor, that's what."

"What a surprise," the said Alpha retorted behind them and both of them turned to shoot him a look. For Keith, one that translated into an apology. For Lance, a warning.

"Lotor's actually been there for me all this time, Lance. He's my friend, in case you haven't noticed." Keith growled as he held his stance. "And no, I don't mean some random friend that you hook up with in frat parties, I mean my _actual_ friend."

Lance took a step back in hesitance, not knowing if Keith was saying what he thought he was saying. There was a big chance Keith knew about him and the Omega, just not how far they took it. After all, he was under the same roof when it happened. It could've also been what caused him to panic in the first place. As he dwelled in the thought of unconsciously hurting Keith, Lance grew guiltier and adapted a more sympathetic tone.

“Look-”

“Keith-”

“-we need to talk,” they said in unison. Keith could hear Lotor snort behind them and prayed Lance didn’t so as to not further agitate the Alpha. Keith cleared his throat and gestured towards the door. “Can we do this inside at least?”

 

* * *

 

 

Lance was still fiddling with the string of his teabag by the time Keith sat down across him. Upon walking in (and signaling for Lotor to leave, which seemed to delight Lance a bit), Keith immediately got water in the kettle and searched for a charger. He even had to get Lance a change of clothes because the Alpha looked so run dry. His hair was messy and his clothes wrinkled, there were deep lines of worry etched into his face.

Keith grimaced at the thought of last night's activities taking its toll on Lance, being kept up all night fucking some random Omega was no doubt not good for sleep. With that bitter thought, Keith plopped down on his seat with a pout.

"Well?"

The Alpha jumped in his seat as he was addressed, looking unsure of himself all over again. "I've been thinking about... us. Whatever we are. And I don't think it's healthy for either of us."

 _Lance is breaking up with me_ , it came to him like a revelation, _I can't believe I'm being dumped by someone I'm not even dating. God, this makes no sense_.

He felt emptiness well up inside him. It was a familiar feeling he didn't think he'd have to feel anymore, but it was still there. It was lingering, hiding away, and it knew the right moments to come out and strike. He knew it only came out in his weakest.

It was sad too, the thought of losing the only real friend he made on his own. All he could think about was how much he'd be missing the long talks about nothing in particular and soft, casual touches. But he couldn't have both. He knew that now. He knew if he wanted to keep Lance as a friend, those soft, casual touches would have to belong to someone else — and he'd have to pretend to be happy about it.

Unwillingly, Rolo was brought into his thoughts. Rolo, who once upon a time, Keith might've considered a friend, an acquaintance. _Something_. He ruined that too.

"Is this because of that other Omega?"

Lance reddened at the question, probably hoping Keith hadn't seen, hadn't known. He partly wished he hadn't either, but he knew that the sting of Lance's actions would make the end of their... relationship mean less to him. At least, he hoped it would.

"No, it's not. It's just," Lance looked up and locked gazes with him, portraying a longing and hopefulness that Keith has never noticed in his eyes before, "I like you, Keith. I really like you. And I don't want to be unfair to you, I don't want you to think that you owe me or something-"

The Alpha paused and sniffed the air cautiously. In other situations, it might've been rude, but Keith could understand. He only noticed the distress signals he had been giving off when Lance did. "Keith, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean-"

"No! I -um..." Keith nervously averted his eyes to the table, not bearing the thought of facing Lance at the moment. His nerves were buzzing and he couldn't get them to stop. After registering the words, a mix of happiness filled the air and he couldn't get both emotions under control. "Wait, this isn't what it looks like."

"You're not mad...?" Lance looked confused. He abandoned his seat and his mug of tea, opting instead to move closer towards the Omega.

"Yes- I mean no! N-not upset anymore, is what I meant," Keith stammered out, finding little else to do but frantically face anywhere but Lance. "It's just I'm not- I think- uh..."

Suddenly he was engulfed in a warm hug. Keith gasped as Lance's arms tightly circled his body, pulling him in close to smell the Alpha's unique scent. At the realization that he was intentionally, albeit poorly, releasing soothing pheromones, the Omega let out a small giggle and pressed his face into the Alpha's neck. "I'm sorry, I don't want to hurt you. I don't know what you're feeling right now but I wanted to help calm you down."

"You didn't let me finish," Keith said, confidence back as he spoke in a playful manner, "I like you too. I was worried I'd lose you as a friend and everything for it. But I really, really like you and I think you deserve to know too."

Lance mumbled something into his hair and he laughed again. "What?"

Then he was pulling away and cradling both sides of Keith's face. Keith gulped at the proximity, even though he knew it was no stranger to either of them. But Lance has never stared with the same fervent dedication before. Or maybe he has and Keith never stared long enough to see. "Can I kiss you?"

With a nod, he was pulled into a long, searing kiss. He felt one of Lance hand find its way to the back of his head and he melted into the touch. Melted into the kiss, melted into everything Lance had to offer. He knew he was falling hard and fast and he couldn't bring himself to try to stop anything. Hesitantly, he brought his arms up around Lance neck, pulling them closer together.

As they parted, Keith buried his face back into Lance's neck, breathing heavily. "It's 'may I'."

"What is?"

"'May I kiss you'."

"Again? You're insatiable," The Alpha joked above him, caressing his sides as they leaned into each other.

After a comfortable silence, Keith spoke again, not bringing his face up just yet. "Lance?"

"Yeah?"

"What do we do now?"

More silence. And a slight pause at his caressing motions.

"I want to date you, if that's okay." Keith felt arms underneath him and held on tight. Soon, he was being transported from the dining room to the living room couch, Lance gently placing him on his favorite spot. " And I want to see where this goes. I want to be able to become mates someday, but we're too young for that."

Instead of an answer, Keith gave him, "What if we mess up?"

_ What if I mess up? _

"Then we'll clean it up together. So, what do you say, Kogane?" There was a reassuring grin on Lance face that he couldn't help but want to kiss away. He saw the Alpha brace himself for another kiss and he quickly went for it, holding Lance tight and kissing the life out of him. And i n between breaths he mumbled, "yes".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope it wasn't too cheesy because I pulled every cliche out of my ass to make this chapter. Tbh I am not good at confrontations and overly dramatic representations of love. I like sticking to the mundane and just getting to business right away, which I think translates into how I see Keith and Lance as characters when it comes to facing something like this
> 
> PS I know that morning breath + alcohol breath + lack of a toothbrush is a really bad combination when you wanna ask someone out. But for the sake of Keith and Lance dating, let's just FORGET ABOUT THAT ALTOGETHER (jk I forgot in the middle of it and just decided to roll with it)


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> .Early chapter bec I was late last week! Not beta-ed beware

“You should just go ahead and text him,” Pidge suggested, no doubt tired of watching Keith glance at his phone again and again for the past ten minutes.

It had been three days since they started officially dating and Pidge found out only because Lance let it slip. They let Hunk in on it first because Lance was adamant about telling his ‘bestest friend in the whole world’. The reveal had been relatively easy, with Keith just sending a simple text to Lotor and Lance talking about it personally. Not to mention, Hunk engulfed him in a big bear hug the next time they saw each other, and Pidge just clapped him on the back mentioning what a relief it was to see them actually make a move and not tip-toe around each other anymore.

Shiro was a different case. He still wasn’t back from his conference, though, so Keith deemed it a problem for another day. Though, he was sure things would get complicated as soon as his brother found out.

“It’s killing me seeing you like this. You look like a kicked puppy, god.”

Keith glared at her, then added for good measure, “I don’t know what to say.”

“‘ _ Let’s hook up _ ?’”

“Pidge!”

“What? I don’t know what your codeword or whatever for that is, I just stuck to the basics. Please don’t tell me you guys have a weird codeword for hooking up.”

“But I don’t...” Keith trailed off and miserably stared at his blank phone screen. The ugly truth was that he  _ did  _ want to hook up, but was clueless about how to go around just asking your new boyfriend for sex. It wasn’t like he had any experience in that aspect of relationships. Or, relationships in general.

Well, it was probably their fault for doing the whole thing backwards. It wasn’t supposed to be meet, have sex (tons and tons of it, to be exact), and then fall in love.

_ Fall in love _ . The thought had him squirming in his seat. It wasn’t like he didn’t already like Lance either — he did, much more than he ever remembered feeling about anyone. But he was also still rightfully wary about the whole ‘ _ fall in love _ ’ aspect. And, if they were truly thinking about the future, the ‘ _ become mates _ ’ aspect hugely bothered him more than he let on as well.

Those problems were the exact reason why he prefered not being tied down to anything at all. Not being tied down yet meant that he didn’t have to work around the right words to use in a text or worry about his partner’s expectations or meet their parents- oh god  _ he’d have to meet Lance’s parents _ .

“Dude. What’s up? You know you could tell me, right?” Pidge’s tone sounded empathetic even if her eyes were still glued into her laptop screen while she typed away. It was only the two of them inside Keith’s room, Shiro and Matt were out for the conference and would stay out for two weeks.

“What if… I’m not the  _ relationship  _ type?”

“Like, you think you don’t like him enough?”

“N-no! I like him, I like him a lot.” Admitting it out loud was embarrassing enough to cause a deep blush to bloom on his face. “I’m just pretty sure I won’t make a good boyfriend.”

“Aw, please.” Pidge shut her laptop momentarily and rolled her eyes at him. “There is no metric for good boyfriend unless you sleep with someone. You know, like, without their permission ‘cause I have no idea if you guys have group sex in your list-”

“ _ Pidge _ !”

“-but I can say for sure that whatever makes a bad boyfriend, you don’t have it in you. And trust me, Lance is crazy about you, you’re all he ever talks about, even before the whole ‘boyfriend’ thing.”

If he was blushing then, he was red from head to toe after Pidge’s remark. It felt… good to know your boyfriend talked about you.  _ Sweet _ , even. He already knew Lance was the loving type — if his tight-knit relationship with his close friends counted for anything — so it was overwhelming pleasing for it.

Just then, his phone vibrates and they both stare at it, their picture (Keith insisted he didn’t have to, but Lance roped him into taking a picture with the Alpha kissing him sweetly on the cheek to ‘celebrate their relationship’ or something) and a quick message displayed on the lock screen.

 

**Hey babe how bout a date? My last class got cancelled so I can take you to dinner ;)**

Lance. Wednesday, 4:16 PM.

 

“Speak of the devil,” Pidge mumbled as she deemed it unnecessary and went back to her work.

He found himself unable to suppress his stupid grin at the text anyway. The Omega’s mood was immensely brightened and he continued reading his Biology textbook without any real concentration, just anxious to get to meet Lance soon.

 

**Sure, let’s meet up in my apartment. Pidge is here too.**

Keith. Wednesday, 4:17 PM.

 

“God, I can’t wait ‘til you guys leave the honeymoon stage. I can actually  _ feel  _ you smiling right now and I’m not even  _ looking  _ at you.”

 

* * *

Lance greeted him with a peck on the cheek while Pidge made blanching noises in the background. “Can you guys at least wait until I turn around?”

“I waited months to be able to do that in public, I’m not stopping now,” Lance joked, pulling his boyfriend close as they locked the front door back them.

It was moments like those that made Keith feel a deep shame inside himself. He felt like he should’ve known, should’ve done something to ease Lance’s pain in the past. He felt like he was in the wrong because Lance was always too scared of rejection to bring up his feelings before.

When they confronted each other about how long they’ve held the yearning for something more than just a fuck buddies kind of relationship, Lance revealed he’s had a strong attraction towards Keith from the start, but he started developing feelings along the way. Keith’s feelings were more recent, like he just woke up with them one day, realizing he wanted Lance to be with him in ways other than sex.

Admittedly, he hadn’t even thought of Lance as a  _ friend _ , much less boyfriend-material when they first met that day with Shiro. He just lumped him up with all the other faceless Alphas he’s met before — eager to please him and easy to trick. He knew he had him tied around his pretty little finger and Lance could do and would not want to do anything to stop it.

In short, he felt like the worst boyfriend ever. It wasn’t everyday you hear that the person you like once thought of you as nothing more than another prize on their belt. He didn’t want to admit that to Lance but when he did, the Alpha just waved it off and said he didn’t care about first impressions as much as he cared about the present. Which made him feel even  _ worse _ .

How could Lance simply wave off how horrible he’d been before? He was nothing but a siren, he knew, luring Alpha after Alpha into his trap and feeling no remorse as long as he was free to continue playing his game.

“So, what’re you feeling like eating today? I could take you to that Korean place you like so much.” Keith snapped out of his thoughts fast enough to catch the enthusiastic shine in Lance’s eyes as he thought about their date night out loud.

“Sure,” Keith replied bashfully, turning away to make sure Lance didn’t catch his blush again. When it came to dates, he was an absolute rookie. Lance was always going around acting like a true gentleman, doing nice things for him and complimenting him like there was no tomorrow.

Sitting down next to each other in one of the empty booths made the talking a lot easier. He didn’t have to look directly at Lance but he could still be near him.

It wasn’t like he was averse to looking at Lance — he would if he could, all day and all day, just because Lance was  _ so freaking handsome _ . It was more like he was the sun, like Keith would burn his eyes looking at him directly for too long because he just held so much energy.

Keith’s favorite thing ever in their relationship also happened to be just being stationed close to Lance. Like a housecat, he would find comfort in his boyfriend’s warmth. And because they were technically ‘dating’ (the word still brought about a certain giddiness in him), he didn't have to worry about crossing any boundaries. So, as expected, he leaned into Lance throughout their meal.

Lance seemed to love that part as well, since he leaned into Keith as well and settled a hand comfortably on his waist and he prattled on, empty table in front of them as they waited for their takeout and change.

“Lance, oh my gosh, is that you?”

A tall, slender blonde sauntered her way towards their table and both of them tensed. Keith tended to do that when strangers approached him, but he casted a worried glance at Lance when he appeared obviously bothered by the girl's presence.

“It's been like forever!” The girl's thin lips stretched into dazzling smile and she rushed forward, placing her hands on the surface of their table. Keith gave her a small, awkward grin in return and turned to look at his boyfriend. To his surprise and confusion, Lance looked petrified in his seat, his eyes wide and unmoving as he stared at the girl in front of them.

“Lance?” he whispered.

That seemed to break the spell he was under, as the Alpha swallowed a lump in his throat and returned the smile. “H-hi, Nyma. It’s been a while.”

“Oh, aren’t you gonna introduce me to your friend?” She batted her eyelashes prettily, glancing towards Keith in a friendly manner. Keith assumed she was the type of person to just do everything that way,  _ prettily _ . Her charisma, after all, was unparalleled. It felt like they were in the presence of a glamorous star.

“Yeah, this is Keith,” Lance gestured towards him, giving Keith an encouraging squeeze, “my boyfriend.”

The girl, who was named ‘Nyma’ apparently, erupted in excitement. “Oh, I couldn’t have guessed! You never told me anything, and no one seemed to bring it up.”

“Yeah we’re-um-” he cleared his throat, “we just started dating recently.”

“Really?” Nyma’s eyes twinkled as she assessed Keith, then sharply turned to Lance with a more sympathetic expression, “I gotta say, I’m  _ so  _ happy for you. Like, I heard what people have been saying after I rejected you, and I felt so bad.  _ So  _ bad-”

Keith almost jumped at the word. She said ‘rejected you’, which meant she might’ve been an Omega Lance had been interested in before. He could see then why Lance seemed so upset.

“-but now I can see you got over it so yay! I’m so happy, aw you guys make  _ such  _ a cute couple!”

Suddenly, everything about Nyma was more annoying than before. Instead of communicating elegance and charm, Keith’s temper was slowly simmering within him.

_ What kind of person just brings up their previous relationship with a guy in front of said guy’s new boyfriend? _

Worst of all, Lance appeared unsettled by everything about the situation. He was shifting uncomfortably in his seat, and Keith also regrettably noticed how he moved away from him slightly.

Just before they had the chance to say anything about it, she interrupted both of their thoughts with, “Me and my date were just waiting for an available table, think we can sit with you guys for a sec?”

Keith was about to politely decline when Lance nodded with a strained, “sure”. The Omega glanced at him for an explanation as Nyma took a seat across them, but Lance wasn’t looking at him at all. He was staring straight down at his empty plate.

After settling herself, Nyma began to talk about everything and anything. She rambled on and on so fast Keith could hardly understand where her story was going, so he just kept nodding along and hoping she wouldn’t notice anything out of the ordinary — like the obvious lack of comprehension in his eyes. When she finished her story that was probably about corn nuts and her bestie choking on them after taking three martinis in a minibar (Keith couldn’t remember the details, honestly), she turned solely to Keith and smiled widely again. “So, how’d you meet Lance?”

“We-uh… my brother introduced us.”

“Wow, who’s your brother? Does he go here?” Even though she was shelling him with inquiries about his personal life, Keith was still given the impression she didn’t truly care about him  _ or  _ his brother anyway. Which bothered him even more.

“Takashi Shirogane.”

“ _ Oh _ . You’re  _ that  _ Keith.” There was clear glint in her eyes, some underlying sinister in them. “I’ve heard about you. All good things, you know.”

_ Oh, really, _ He inwardly mocked her voice in his head, coupled with a mental eye roll. He was seething. Nyma was sitting all  _ pretty  _ and smug across him and all he could do was physically restrain himself from trying to strangle her.

It was then that Keith realized how much they mirrored one another. Once upon a time,  _ he  _ was Nyma. He was the Omega trying to gain the upperhand in a situation by using their charm. Sure, he never outright looked for trouble like Nyma was doing at the moment, never sought out one of his previous partners while they were obviously romantically involved with someone else — but he’s the same kind of evil. He used to dangle Alphas in front of him like puppets, viewed them as nothing but puppets.

He lost his train of thought when Nyma perked up and waved a hand, “We’re right here, sweetie!”

“Babe, it’s another ten minutes until we get a table, so maybe we should just leave and-”

Wait. He knew that voice. Keith turned to the person who approached their table and was startled by the sight of an equally surprised Rolo staring back at him in disbelief. “-Keith?”

The Omega remained tight-lipped as his eyes darted somewhere else. It was Lance’s turn to be concerned as he nudged his boyfriend gently, probably sending him concerned looks he failed to notice.

Nyma seemed oblivious to everything. Or, she didn’t care. Because she just clapped her hands together excitedly. “Great, you know each other! Rolo, sweetie, why don’t you sit down while we book an Uber somewhere else? I’m sure Lance and Keith don’t mind.”

His mortification from the other night all came back to him, paralyzing and damaging. He was engulfed by the sick feeling of being surrounded by enemies and people he couldn’t trust, even if Lance was just  _ right there _ .

Nyma started going on about Rolo, now that they could have an actual solid topic. He sat there looking bashful and staring at her like she was a goddess. He wasn’t trying to meet Keith’s eyes, even if Keith was trying to do the opposite. He  _ wanted  _ Rolo to look at him straight in the eye. He  _ wanted  _ to question how Rolo could possibly sit still, sit  _ comfortably  _ knowing that Keith was just right across him.

When Nyma brought up the Alpha’s goddamn membership into his stupid frat, that was his cue to leave. Everyone seemed taken by surprise at his rapid movement, Lance inching closer towards him, “Keith, babe, you alright?”

Keith caught Rolo glancing at Lance the moment he mentioned the term of endearment. He probably had no idea Keith and Lance were a thing now. And he wasn’t particularly  _ high  _ up on Keith’s list of people he wanted to find out but he did anyway. And now Keith had to live with that knowledge, knowing Rolo was probably laughing at him behind his back. Was probably mocking him.  _ How easy is it to hop from Alpha to Alpha, Red? _

All he saw was red, and that’s when he knew he needed to take a breather. “I’m sorry, I’m gonna go look for a bathroom,” he scrambled for an excuse, “but I just saw that lady go in, so I’ll just head out for a while to see if there’s a bathroom anywhere out there.”

Without another word, Keith got up and rushed outside. Once he was enveloped by the cool air, he walked out of their line of sight and leaned against the concrete wall. God, he needed to get away fast or else he’d never be able to regain his sanity. He needed to get away from Rolo and Nyma and her little mind games.

He didn’t know how far ahead she had predicted, but he knew the possibility of Rolo telling her. She must’ve known, somehow, and must’ve wanted to humiliate him, in a way. It was all part of the ploy. The ploy she concocted with her conniving-

“Hey”

When Keith turned to his side, Lance was standing looking forlorn. He was wearing his coat while clutching the one Keith left behind, one hand on their takeout. “Need some company?”

The Omega silently nodded and eagerly held onto his boyfriend when he got close enough. He buried his face into Lance’s neck, scenting himself to try to calm his nerves. “Where’s Nyma and Rolo?”

“Their Uber showed up.”

“Oh.” Keith’s spirits were lifted somewhat by the thought, even though he knew he’d be stuck thinking about their little encounter for several more days. “I’m sorry I stormed off like that.”

“It’s okay. I wanted to too.” Lance sighed and kissed the top of his head. “Keith I think I owe you an explanation.”

“It’s fine, Lance.”

“I just think you really need to know this.” He gripped Keith’s hand tight, as if he was afraid of letting go. ”When I was a freshman, I had a bunch of classes with Nyma and became super obsessed with her. I was convinced she was the perfect Omega and all that. So I bought her everything she asked for, followed her around, acted as a wingman and watch her hook up with other people, lied to professors to get her extra credit, and basically reduced myself to her slave. And I realized-” He squeezed his hand again, “-she wasn’t the one. She was just using me, and she made that clear in her rejection. And I was fucked up for a long time after that.”

Lance turned to Keith a looked him in the eyes, honesty and determination shining through. “I am over her, have been for a long time. I just got up and moved on with my life when I realized that the perfect Omega didn’t exist. You just need to find one that will love you and care for you and put up with all your shit.”

Keith beamed at him, laughing as Lance finished his speech. The Omega tiptoed and they shared a deep kiss. Their lips smacked together and Keith’s were even cold from the air, but he could feel Lance smiling against the kiss and he couldn’t even bring himself to think about Nyma and Rolo and all their messed up shit. All he could think about, could feel, was Lance.

When they finished, they were snuggled against each other in the cold, dark night. The paper bag filled with their takeout was even squished against his hip uncomfortably. But Keith felt lighter than ever. Then a thought crossed his mind and dampened it once again.

“There was also something that happened… with Rolo.” Keith looked away in uncertainty. “Back then, I kinda hooked up with him. That night, in the frat party. You guys were talking about the initiation that all their members had to take. And I think Rolo used me to get in.”

Lance was positively furious, if Keith could use the signals of anger leaking from his scent as an indication. For a second, he felt a spike of fear — no Alpha liked having an Omega that was… soiled, shared, sloppy seconds like him — and he’s had too many bad experiences with angry Alphas.

But he quickly dismissed the thought when Lance growled out, “That bastard. Why would he do something like that. Why would  _ anyone  _ do  _ anything  _ like that?”

In a flash, he regained his happy mood, feeling more confident in the presence of an Alpha he knew wouldn’t betray him, wouldn’t use him like Rolo. “It’s in the past. None of it matters now.” Keith leaned in to kiss the frown out of Lance’s face. “Come on, let’s go to my place before the takeout gets cold.”

 

* * *

Lance made it a breeze to forget about what a disaster their date night previously was. With a tempting offer to spend the rest of his remaining time atop Keith’s bed, the Omega practically tore open the refrigerator door open for the takeout. Then they slipped into Keith’s room unbothered, for once, by the looming fear that Shiro was anywhere nearby.

Keith was snug on top of Lance when his phone went off. Lance had to bat away anymore advances with a giggle to check his phone.

“It’s Hunk. He’s asking if I’m coming home or staying over at your place.”

“Stay,” Keith insisted, finding his place once more snuggled next to Lance. It was like he could hardly get enough of him, like he was drunk on his scent.

“I can’t, I have an 8 AM session tomorrow and I don’t wanna wake you.”

“ _ Stay _ .”

Lance laughed and grabbed his phone, shooting a quick text to Hunk before tossing it to the edge of the bed again. He returned to Keith and dwarfed him in a big hug. “Alright, alright, I’ll stay.”

His Alpha tenderly brushed his lips against his forehead. “Anything for you.”

Once they were out of their dirty clothes and into clean pajamas, it was easy to fall into the warm bed and Lance’s arms. Engulfed in Lance’s scent, Keith found himself falling fast asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be clear, I absolutely LOVE Nyma, even shipped her in a poly with Matt and Rolo (they are lowkey my rare OT3). Buuuut I had to have a bitch in this and just has so much of an effect on Lance in this story, so I thought why not?
> 
> Oh, and I hope you guys don't mind the cheesiness? I just really wanted to write something fluffy and sweet and nice after everything they've been through (both in canon and in this fic). Trust me, these boys NEED SOME LOVE.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter is short. Sorry for the long wait, I underestimated college. Also not proofread yet, so beware

Keith knew Lance has seen him in several different outfits, so it shouldn’t be a much of a dilemma to find something to wear on their dates. But, for some reason, he found himself dotting on the simplest things like a mindless Omega during courtship.

The thought made him grimace, but he supposed  _ he _ was the mindless Omega in the courtship stage now. Nobody has said anything outright, but Lance has been bringing him gifts almost every day and Keith has been thinking over spending his next heat with him.

His heat, which was coming soon, he knew. He could feel it instinctively and was already beginning his preparations (his nest was less than habitable, but he’ll improve it soon). The impending heat made it harder to think about his future with Lance, whatever that meant. Did he want to spend a heat with him? Did he want to be his mate?

The only real problem was his family. Mainly, Shiro. Not that he was something Keith would have to think about at the moment, given the Alpha was still out probably impressing professors and other professionals with his and Matthew Holt’s research findings. Keith was proud of him, really. But he was more grateful for the fact that it gave him and Lance plenty of time together without having to be afraid of getting walked in on.

Ironically, they haven’t done a single scandalous thing either since Shiro left. Lance and Keith have both been the model boyfriends, they haven’t lost a single article of clothing while making out on the couch and whenever Lance stayed over, it was just to cuddle next to each other at night.

Pidge was joking about how Keith was more lovesick than horny these days, which is why he’s letting it slide. But he liked to think it was because doing  _ anything _ with Lance was addictive and satisfying, even if it wasn’t sexual.

Soon, they would have to think of a plan, though. Shiro was set to be home by Monday and they had all weekend to write a plausible, realistic script that did not in any way include the words ‘ _ fuck buddies _ ’ or ‘ _ friends with benefits _ ’.

Lance was picking Keith up after his class for dinner, and then they were going out for movies. The Alpha said something along the lines of ‘ _ thinking of what to say to Shiro _ ’, but it was just like any other date they’ve been on.

So he strutted his way to class and picked a seat in the front. Keith probably didn’t look like it, but he liked class. He got lessons more than he got people, most of the time. Unlike people, lessons were structured and organized, which made them easy to study. When it came to other people, however-

“Kogane.”

He tried to ignore the pestering behind him.

“ _ Kogane _ .” It was a little louder this time.

“What,” Keith barely whipped his head to the direction of the voice, opting instead to continue copying his notes.

“Is it true you’re dating Lance McClain?” Some nosy Beta from the second row. Her name was something annoying like Tracy or something but Keith couldn’t care less.

“What’s it to you?” He cocked his head to the side, irritation clear in his face. He was greeted with laughter from the Beta, who turned to her other friends. “I told you so,” she whispered.

But Keith was used to being the center of attention for the rumor mill. Not only that, his story with Rolo recently made it to every social circle and now he once again had his sex life out in the open. That night when someone had confronted him about it, he had to call Lance for an emergency and ended up just clinging unto him for comfort while the Alpha projected calming pheromones.  _ Boyfriend perks _ .

The only good thing to come out of that was the fact that it overshadowed the other obvious rumor that  he and Lance were dating. Keith wanted to lay low. He wanted to be in the sidelines for once.

He could hear the snickers and hushed voices behind him and he tried to tell himself that it didn’t have anything to do with him, but he knew better. Keith knew that some people were just out to make your life hell, and it wasn’t a matter of deserving it or not, the ability was just within their reach and they wanted to take it.

However, he balled it all up until the end of his classes. He had two more to go, four more hours. By then, he would be free for the day and ready to spend the rest with Lance.

* * *

“Could we just tell him that I liked you from the time we met?” Lance suggested as they lazily picked out a movie from outside the cinema. Keith was tucked under his arm, the Omega hugging his coat coat as his eyes scanned the list.

“Shiro’s a total sap,” the Omega hummed nonchalantly, “so go for it. He’ll fall for those things just as long as you don’t mention the part you fucked my brains out several times before.”

The Alpha turned red and discreetly glanced around to make sure no one was listening. “Don’t say stuff like that out loud.”

“Lance McClain ate me out.”

“ _ Keith _ !”

Keith burst in a fit of giggles, turning flushed from the sudden rush of emotions. Lance couldn’t help but cracking a smile as well, affected by the infectious cheeriness radiating from his boyfriend. Slowly he pulled him closer and pressed a kiss into his hair. “You are going to be the death of me, I swear it.”

“Yeah, I am.” Keith’s dark eyes shone as they gazed into his, and Lance didn’t need to sniff to air to know he was filled with love and contentment. For a while, he felt his chest puff up in pride, loving the fact that he caused so much positive feelings in Keith.

While they were lining up for the tickets, Keith still clinging into him adorably, he felt a presence behind them and he turned around. “Well, if it isn’t my favorite Omega.”

His boyfriend tensed in his arms and slowly turned, coming face-to-face with a familiar Alpha. Lance wrecked his brain for a clue, taking in the football jersey and neatly gelled hair. Finally, his mind gave in.

_ The Alpha from Rolo’s party. _

Lance felt possessiveness well up inside him and he pushed Keith behind him slightly.

“Woah, man, no need to get like that,” the jock said as he put his hands up in a mock pose of surrender, “I’m just here to watch movies, same as you. I just wanted to say hi to an old friend, that’s all. Didn’t know you had another Alpha as your personal bodyguard now.”

“Shut it, Williams,” Keith replied menacingly behind Lance, taking a daring step forward. “It’s none of your business.”

“Of course it isn’t.” The guy just laughed and casted a mischievous glance at the Omega behind him. “I’ve had my turn, I’m not gonna keep others from taking theirs.”

Instead of anger, Lance felt embarrassment, like he was being reduced to nothing but Keith’s fuckbuddy again even though they’ve come so far. He knew the words did not come from Keith himself, but it stung like they did. When he opened his mouth to say something, Keith’s unsurprisingly strong grip (he wasn’t fazed, he’s seen the Omega in the gym before, beating Alphas on the ring) pulled at his shirt and he felt himself being dragged away from another fight. “Excuse us.”

“Have fun!” He heard the mocking tone in the Alpha’s voice, and he knew exactly what the remark meant. Lance’s blood boiled and it didn’t stop even when he was alone with Keith again.

“What was that all about?” His Omega gestured wildly to the ticket booth, an annoyed expressed on his face.

“I was just-” Lance breathed out, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration, “-trying to protect you.”

“I don’t need protecting, I could’ve handled him,” Keith huffed, crossing his arms and staying far away from Lance, a stark contrast to how they were seen before. “All it takes is bunch of insulting words and he walks away.”

Keith dismissed his efforts to actually protect him. More than that, the Omega took his efforts and spat back at his face by questioning the way he handled the situation, as if Lance was the helpless one in the relationship who couldn’t do anything right. As if Lance was incapable of caring for  _ his own boyfriend _ .

“Did you use  _ words  _ with him the last time, too?” The Alpha goaded, “is that why he’s so eager for ‘another turn’?”

A sharp pain registered and he felt a tingle through his body. Soon, the scent of distress filled the air and Lance was breaking his act to apologize. “Wait, I-”

“I’m going home,” Keith retorted with resolution, his eyes steely and his lips curled into a deep scowl, “I don’t feel like seeing you right now.”

Before he could come up with a response, the Omega was swiftly walking out of the building. He felt crippling fear course through him, this was Keith. His boyfriend. His  _ Omega _ . He cannot let him leave feeling like that. If Keith were ever to leave him, though the thought was painful, Lance wanted both of them paths to diverge for the better. He wanted to end on good terms. And this was anything but.

“H-hold on, I can explain-”

His hand was smacked away when he tried to touch Keith’s shoulder, then his boyfriend finally turned to him. “You don’t have to. You still think I’m a helpless, whining Omega bitch. And now I know you still think I’m a slut too.”

“I don’t think that!”

“Stop lying!” Keith yelled at him, glaring dagger at the Alpha. “I thought when we started this, you could handle being with someone like me. But it turns out, you’re still like everyone else. It doesn’t matter what our present or future is, you’re stuck on my past.”

“Well, it’s hard on me too,” Lance insisted, trying to get the Omega to see his side of the argument. “Sometimes I don’t know what you’re thinking, it’s like you’re keeping so many things from me.”

“God, you are such an asshole sometimes,” Keith growled in frustration, “I’m allowed to have secrets, you are too, that’s how relationships work and-”

His breath hitched dangerously high and for a second Lance was worried he made his Omega cry. Fuck, Keith was right. What kind of asshole was he if he made his boyfriend cry just because of some petty argument? His stance turned rigid and he was on the Omega in seconds to make sure he was alright.

“Keith,” his tone turned calm and gentle, trying to mask his worry, “What’s wrong, babe?”

The Omega was breathing heavily and clutching at his clothing, like it was painful to him. Lance noticed his face turned red and his pupils dilated. When he stared into Lance, he could see the fear and desperation in them. “L-Lance…  _ Heat _ .”

* * *

Everything around him was faded. When his heat hit full-force, he became off-kilter, relying only on Lance to keep him upright. Around him was just pure chaos.

He could hear Lance calling for a ride, either from Hunk or from an Uber, he didn’t know. The words were not processing, instead he just heard muffled voices and smelled Lance's panicked scent. Keith whimpered. If there was anything he wanted to do, it was calm Lance. Make him feel good.

He felt large hands grab him and hoist him into the car seat. When Lance was seated next to him, Keith crawled into his lap and purred lovingly.

“ _ Alpha _ .”

Lance swore beside him, trying to put as much distance between them as possible. It was as if he wasn’t even  _ interested  _ in Keith. Anyone could hardly tell they were even together by the way the Alpha kept trying to move away from him.

The Omega whined louder, hoping to catch his partner’s attention, but it wasn’t until Keith noticed they were parked in front of Shiro’s apartment did Lance actually acknowledge him. The Alpha carried him out of the car with expertise and into the apartment, digging into Keith’s pockets for the key. At one point, Keith could recall hoping Lance touched something else instead of simply digging into his pockets, and maybe even squirmed in Lance’s arms for the attention. To no avail, the Alpha simply unlocked the doors and ran into Keith’s bedroom.

“Make your nest, Keith,” he advised in a gruff voice that didn’t sound like Lance’s at all. “I’ll wait outside.”

Inside the confines of his room, Keith perked up and began to collect the pillows and blankets. His legs regained their ability to walk and he stood slightly upright, bolting to Shiro’s room to scavenge whatever scent his brother left behind. It was his first heat in college that didn’t have Shiro guarding him and he was rightfully terrified. But Lance’s presence provided a calming effect on him, even if he was certain they had just fought beforehand. About what, he couldn’t remember.

He dug out a pillowcase with Shiro’s scent on it and headed back to his room, tossing it in the well-organized pile. Afterwards he arranged the pillows just right, making sure everything covered the right spots, and that they were within arms’ length in any position. Keith was frantic about making sure his nest was in top shape.

Once finished, he pawed the door knob and peeked outside to see Lance sitting rigidly in the hallway. When his head popped out, the Alpha immediately stood to attention. “What’s wrong?”

“I need you.”

“Keith, I-” there was an exasperated tone to his voice, the Alpha sounded torn. But all he registered was distaste towards him.

“I  _ need  _ you,” he tried again, with a whimper this time.

Inviting someone in your nest was no small thing. Usually it took months, maybe even years for Omegas to be comfortable enough with a person in order to invite them in. But Lance was different, or at least, Keith wanted to believe he was.

Keith lunged for a kiss when the door closed behind them. He pulled the Apha into his pile of pillows and blankets, into his haven. For a sweet, short while, he had his arms around Lance and was kissing him like there was no tomorrow. Like they had not a single problem in the world.

But the Alpha pulled away and settle two hands on the sides of his face. “This is wrong.”

“What’s wrong about this?” Keith questioned, fully frustrated now as his voice neared an irritated whine. “Your my Alpha and you’re going to spend my heat with me.”

“That’s the heat talking.”

“No, this is  _ me  _ talking,” The Omega insisted, feeling close to tears. He wasn’t getting it, why wasn’t he  _ getting  _ it? “I want you here.”

Maybe he needed a little more convincing, maybe Lance just didn't see how badly his scent was affecting him. Stubbornly, he crawled over to Lance and set himself on the Alpha's lap, grinding down deliciously. Keith tossed his head back just for show as he gripped his boyfriend's arms, careful not to let him leave so easily this time.

"Come on, don't you want me?" Keith batted his lashes at Lance as prettily as he can muster. He could smell his arousal in the air, knowing it was so close until he finally gave in.

He took Lance’s hands into his own and pressed his warm lips against his again. He was ready. He was ready to spend his heat with Lance and nothing was stopping him. Already he could feel the slick soaking his clothes and the warmth spreading through his body.

Lance moved against him, cautious and untrusting. He pressed into Keith softly, then a little harder as he laid them both down on the pillows and blankets. “Such a good Omega,” Lance whispered when they parted to breathe, lovingly drawing soothing circles on his back.

Keith keened at the compliment, almost beaming at his nest. When Lance saw, he just chuckled and pulled him close again. On his back, he tried to get rid of his clothes as fast as possible. He pulled off his shirt with haste when Lance pulled away, got ready to unbutton his pants.

“I love you,” he murmured into the Alpha’s hair as he trailed kisses down his pale neck, “I love you so much.”

Lance just kept kissing him. He helped him out of his pants and Keith kicked them away. Suddenly he felt warm hands on his thighs and Keith gasped out loud. “I love you too,” Lance replied, so soft he strained to hear it. But it made it all the more sweeter. It was like it was made to be heard by only him, nobody else in the world. In that moment, nobody else in the world  _ had  _ mattered. Just him and Lance. Just the two of them.

“What the fuck!”

Keith yelped at the sound of Matt Holt’s cry, shrinking into his nest at the scent of a new Alpha in the room. Lance just growled instinctively, shielding Keith away and glaring at the newcomer. There Pidge’s brother was, staring at them incredulously and going red in the face before turning away.

When he deemed him as not quite a threat, Keith relaxed into Lance’s hold and relief flooded his insides, albeit coupled with immense embarrassment at being found practically naked.

It only took him a little too late to realize that Matt’s arrival meant Shiro was with him as well. It was a fact he didn’t think to worry about until the other Alpha was stepping into the doorway, radiating pure rage. Lance at least had the brains to quickly move out of the way, covering Keith with a nearby blanket instead.

His brother leveled the scene in front of him with a hard glare, then growled out, “What is going on here?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo the fight between them might've been OOC but I'm just gonna chalk it up to Keith being too emotional because of his coming heat and Lance getting affected by his mixed scents. Also YES I am a sucker for the cliche trope of being walked in on and stuff, so I included it here. Sorry it's shorter than usual, hope you guys enjoyed it!


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PSA: Art school is hell
> 
> Not beta-ed

“I can explain,” was the first thing Keith said.

But his brother only growled as he approached them, specifically Keith to check if there was anything wrong with him. In his feet laid the blankets of Keith’s nest, ruined and violated from the sudden event.

Lance rightfully scurried away, making himself as small as possible in the corner of Keith’s nest as Shiro examined his brother. Once he noted he was still in the right state of mind and, most importantly, had not yet done _anything_ with the Alpha — he moved on to Lance.

“Explain,” he commanded with finality, causing the other Alpha to gulp in fear.

“Keith and I are dating.”

It felt a million doors were opened. Even though the tension was still high in the room (so much so that Matt himself decided to step out and wait the whole thing out in the living room instead), Lance found his shoulders slumping with relief. Finally, months of pent up secrets were let loose. Even if it was for quite a hefty price.

“And you thought it was wise to spend the heat together without telling anyone.”

“Well, we haven’t really-”

“What could’ve happened?” Shiro’s voice echoed through the room, seeming to pose as a declaration rather than a question. “You could’ve gotten Keith pregnant. He is not in his right mind right now and _you_ took advantage of him.”

“He didn’t!” Keith protested from behind Shiro, grabbing his brother’s arm to try to faze him. But nothing seemed to get past the wall that the Alpha has built.

“You both didn’t think this through.” Shiro turned to glower at the two of them, and Keith bowed his head low in shame. “You think that just because you’re dating now that makes doing this without consulting me okay?”

Keith pushed himself upright with shaky arms, shaking with rage. “I’m not a kid anymore!”

“ _But you’re still an Omega_!” The Alpha’s words boomed, practically causing the things around him to shake with the power of his emotions. Keith’s eyes widened in fear for a split second, and Lance felt the urge to protect his Omega rise up. But, at the same time, Shiro’s words bit at him.

Shiro must've seen the change too, because soon he was lowering his voice, making his tone gentle. “You have to be careful, because if you aren’t... someone might take advantage of you.”

He threw an accusing glare at Lance and he felt his heart sink. Shiro was right. They were still young, they could've done worse, gone father, had no one interrupted. And then what? Did he really want to be a twenty-something Alpha caring for a family? An Alpha working two, three jobs to put food on the table — all without his college degree.

The shame crept up inside of him, and he cast a worried glance at Keith, who was still determined to fight for their right to stay together during a heat. Even when it was clear they were in no way prepared to.

“Stop treating me like I’m stupid!” Keith was standing now, holding his clenched fists at his sides as he looked Shiro in the eye. “Just because I’m a _fucking_ Omega doesn’t mean I don’t know what’s right and wrong,”

“But do you, Keith?” Shiro’s voice came out as exasperated and tired, arguing was clearly taking an emotional toll on him as much as it was to Keith. “How do you expect me to trust you when all you do is go behind my back doing these things?”

Shiro pointed to the nest beneath them, the crumpled blankets on the floor. “You’re spending your heat here. _Alone_. I’m gonna go downstairs and talk to Lance.”

Then he promptly turns around and grabs Lance’s arm with him, leading him away from Keith and his nest. The Omega protested wildly, screaming at Shiro, but to no avail. The door was shutting between them and Lance was being hauled onto his feet.

“I’m sorry,” becomes the first words to leave his mouth when they shut the door behind them. They walk away like that, Keith wailing miserably from behind the door in a way that just made Lance’s heart ache.

“How could you do this,” Shiro’s voice broke, looking at him with a halfhearted glare, “I thought you were Keith’s friend.”

“I am… I just-”

“I thought you were _my_ friend.”

When he turned, he was met with the immense disappointment in the other Alpha’s eyes. Shiro shook his head and went ahead, leaving Lance behind. As he was on his way to the living room, he passed Matt, who was on his way up again. No doubt to guard Keith, as per Shiro’s demands. Matt just shot him a look of concern and pity and went on his way. “Good luck, man.”

When he got to the living room, Shiro was already sitting down on one of the seats. The Alpha seemed to have calmed down a bit, no longer volatile like before. Instead, his emotions seemed more restrained. But even from far away, Lance saw the way his shoulders slumped in exhaustion.

“You guys could’ve made a big mistake,” he repeated. Lance just nodded in remorse and silently took a seat across him.

“We know. And I’m sorry, I should’ve stopped it before it happened.” Lance scratched the back of his head, face flushing as he thought about how persuasive Keith was, how he almost fell for it, “Keith is sorry too, he just doesn’t seem like it right now.”

“I want the truth, Lance.” The younger Alpha bolted up upon hearing his name said in such a serious manner. When he looked up, Shiro was staring at him with a controlled stony expression, eyes hardened into a black look. “Start from the beginning.”

Lance gulped. It was hard to look away with the intensity of the look Shiro was giving him. He braced himself for the worst and decided to go along with exactly what the Alpha commanded. “I started becoming interested in Keith after we first met.”

Shiro sighed and his resolve broke a bit. It seemed as if Keith was right about his brother, Shiro still had a soft spot for romance. And now that Lance had come clean about how he had always kind of wanted Keith, Shiro looked like some weight was lifted from his shoulders. “And?”

“And Keith started liking me too afterwards. The day you left for the conference… we talked it out. And we started dating,” he explained, “Keith was always planning to tell you, he just thought it would be better in person. Or you might, you know, freak out and come home and stuff. He didn’t want you to miss your conference.”

Silence stretched between them and Shiro gave an awkward cough as he asked his next question, “Have you two had sex yet?”

“What!”

“Be _honest_.”

“Well, uh...” Lance gave a cough in return, eyes darting away from Shiro’s in embarrassment. “Technically, yeah.”

“What the hell does ‘technically’ mean?”

Oh god, he was not used to Shiro’s angry voice. Or the way he kept swearing. It was far from the golden boy Pidge kept poking fun at him for being.

“We might’ve slept with each other-” he gulped in fear and said the next words in rapid succession “ _beforewestarteddating_.”

Shiro gave a warning growl from across him, and Lance awkwardly shot him an apologetic look. “So this was going on even _before_ I left.”

He slowly nodded.

“Fuck, what a mess.” For the first time, Shiro lets out a frustrated noise and covers his face with his hands.

“I know right,” was his sarcastic reply. Shiro gave no indication that he was bothered by it, so it was safe to assume the Alpha had calmed down a bit after his confession. At least now the truth was out and they had no more secrets to keep from Shiro. Except for maybe the few dirty details about how long they had actually been sleeping with each other and other emotional baggage Lance was honestly too exhausted to unpack.

“So... what now?” Lance asked warily.

He still really liked Keith. Maybe even more than he realized, since he was ready to spend the heat with him. He didn’t want everything to get erased now that Shiro knew. He wanted more than anything to keep dating Keith.

The older Alpha let out deep exhale and scratched his head. “I can’t... keep you two apart.”

Lance felt a wave of hopefulness. Shiro was on their side, that had to count for something. If Shiro was on their side, it meant they still had a chance.

Before he could start thanking him, the other Alpha held out his hand and stared at him with a deadpan look. “But you two need to start thinking things through. You can start by talking to Keith _after_ his heat is done.”

As if on cue, several footsteps were heard and a rather disheveled Keith appeared in the kitchen doorway. “Shiro!”

“Keith, what are you doing here?” his brother immediately got up from his seat, voice full of concern, “and where’s Matt?”

Just then, the oldest Holt sibling ran into the room, looking dazed and a little red in the face. “He outran me, Shiro. And tackled me,” Matt complained loudly, “nice to know some things never change.”

Keith stood on wobbly legs and made his way to his brother, ignoring everyone else in the room. “I have to go see Lotor.”

“What?”

“He's in trouble,” was his only reply. The Omega then brought out his phone and shoved it right under his brother's nose. Shiro scanned the screen tentatively and let out a deep sigh. “Are you sure about this.”

Keith nodded.

Shiro looked exhausted as hell. Lance forgot they just got off from a flight and were probably both drained. He stood up straight and looked his brother in the eye. “i’m trusting you with this, Keith. I hope I’m not making a mistake.”

Then he turned to them and began relaying orders like he was in the field instead of in a cramped little dining room. “Matt, I want you to stay here and guard Keith. _Don’t_ ,” he emphasized “let him go again.”

“Yessir.”

Matt placed a hand on Keith’s shoulder and the Omega’s shoulders slumped. He probably couldn’t believe he wasn’t even allowed out to see if his friend was in any real danger. “What about you guys?”

“I’m going to go with Lance to make sure Lotor is okay. Send me the location of the hospital,” Shiro said, pointing to Keith’s phone. Meanwhile, Lance was just standing confused at the whole situation, especially now that Lotor of all people was brought into it apparently.

“What’s going on?” Lance questioned, “Why is Lotor in trouble?”

The whole group split and Shiro just gave him a hard pat on the back (maybe a little too hard, okay, he probably was not yet over the whole I-was-secretly-fucking-your-brother-behind-your-back thing). “I’ll explain on the way,” he assured as he grabbed the car keys from a nearby table.

When he turned to Keith, the Omega was already on his way back up, fixing Lance with a longing stare. Suddenly, he walked back down the stairs and gave his boyfriend an innocent peck on the cheek, coupled with a smile worth a million dollars. “Take care of him, Lance.”

 

* * *

 

Shiro woke up feeling rather good, which is a miracle for any graduate student.

Everything was going according to plan with their conference, they had a chance to say their part, accept the praises, and now they were going home. All that was left to do was surprise Keith with the news. He was going to Japan for summer to work on the rest of his research. And he wanted to take his brother with him.

Unfortunately, said brother had to go behind his back and screw one of his friends so now he had _that_ to clean up. But he calmed down from it, after all, Keith and Lance had shown they had pure intentions most of the time. _Most_ of the time. Their relationship actually seemed plausible, and Shiro couldn't even remember the last time Keith truly even _liked_ someone, much less wanted to pursue a serious relationship with them.

All of it came down to him and Lance sitting awkwardly in his car while they drove their way to a hospital one and a half hour away.

"So, what exactly _is_ Lotor's relationship with Keith?"

He could hear the wariness and defensiveness of the Alpha's tone. It was obvious what kind of impression Lotor gave him. Shiro was just surprised he hasn't heard the answer from Keith himself. "Lotor is Keith's best friend."

"And nothing more?"

"Listen, if they tried to make it out differently to you, you've probably been played, Lance." Shiro coughed as his hands gripped the wheel. "Lotor isn't interested in Keith in any way."

"What does that mean?"

"It means what it means."

Lance squirmed uncomfortably in his seat and stopped looking out the window, sparing Shiro a glance. "Is he like... gay?"

"That's private." Shiro must not have been as in control of his emotions as he'd like, because he accidentally let out a deep growl. He's been growling too much lately, with the recent course of events. He should probably stop before it becomes a habit in front of Lance. Especially, given their current situation, since he would mst likely be seeing a lot more of Lance and his brother together in the future.

"I'm sorry," the younger man swiftly apologized. "I didn't mean it that way. I'm just surprised, there aren't many in campus."

 _There is me_ , he thought, but he quickly dismissed it. Perhaps it would be a topic for a different day.

He still felt the need to protect Lotor, to defend him somehow. Up until recently, he was one of the people doubting Lotor's intentions with Keith, always doubting. He never imagined Lotor could've been like him. The night Keith told him was still clear in his head.

After that, it was easy to sympathize with the other Alpha.

He knew Lotor's family, knew he came from big, old money. Their family was all kinds of traditional, it was no doubt a difficult predicament for the Alpha. Shiro's family, meanwhile, was more accepting. They accepted him the summer he told him about his first Alpha boyfriend, even provided him people to lean on when they eventually broke up after two years.

He could understand how Lance didn't understand any of that, since he was still young. He as still inexperienced in many ways. But he knew that Lance understood that Lotor needed help and that was honestly enough for him.

"Keith and Lotor knew each other in high school, in case you didn't know," he started, catching the way Lance perked up at the prospect of a longer explanation. "They kind of hit it off, since they both liked drinking and making fun of everybody else."

They both shared a laugh at that, and Shiro could see the way Lance's eyes twinkled at the mention of Keith. "And for college, they stuck together. They've always been all each other had as friends, since Keith says Matt, Pidge, and I technically don't count."

"So Lotor is pretty important to Keith, huh?"

"He's important to all of us. We were always there, you know, as a family. Our mom and dad understood Lotor's family situation wasn't the best and we were always there for him as his support." Shiro sighed and looked at the empty road ahead. "I guess we all kinda formed a bond with him somehow."

A moment of silence stretched between the two of them. Lance broke it by asking a simple yet heartbreaking question. "What did the text say."

Shiro's brows furrowed and his hands held onto the wheel tight enough that his knuckles turned white. "All it had was an address to a hospital. Along with 'help'. I don't know what kind of trouble he's in."

"Whatever it is, we can handle it." Lance gave him a reassuring grin. It was weaker than most of the Alpha's usually bright smiles, but it did its job. Shiro returned the smile and relaxed his hold on the wheel. "Let's hope so."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay first of all sorry to all of you for being out for so long. Depression caught me bad and I've been taking new meds for itbut I don't think they're working. Also ART SCHOOL IS SO HARD. I mean it. I hate/love it rn, I have like a friends-with-benefits relationship with it. It keeps fucking with me but it also helps my art so why not.
> 
> Hope you guys didn't find it too short, will try to write longer chapters next time
> 
> Sorry I ended a cliffhanger with a cliffhanger (kinda) but I rpomise to get into more details in the next one


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: abuse

Lotor was black and blue when they saw him in his hospital bed.

When they came in through the front entrance and asked the receptionist, they were immediately led away to one of the rooms. There, the nurse showed them the bandaged Alpha laying down on his bed, who looked less than happy to see them.

Lance could barely move in his spot when they entered the room, his eyes straining to process what was in front of him. There Lotor lied, looking broken with one arm completely bandaged, the other out in the open and showing the rest of the world its bruised state. Even his face was not spared, with cheek swollen on one side and scraped on the other. Lance took a deep intake of air.

Shiro stepped inside faster than he did and rushed to his side.

“Keith’s in heat,” Shiro provided when Lotor’s eyes asked for an explanation. Even in his state, he found it in himself to roll his eyes at the bad timing of it all. “Of course he is.”

“How’re you feeling?” Lance cautiously approached the bed and asked him. Lotor spared him not a single glance as his eyes fixed to a point in the wall, away from both of them.

“Pleasantly surprised. Was not expecting a visit from the golden boy and Keith’s new boytoy, but I suppose I’ll have to accept it.”

Lance probably should’ve felt a stab of annoyance at that, but all he could do was rake his eyes up and down Lotor’s bandaged form. “What happened?”

Lotor appeared to become more agitated as the question arose. “What happened is that I became a statistic. I’m lucky he didn’t kill me instead.”

“Lotor-”

“My father did this.”

“What?”

“One of his spies, one of his precious underlings saw me with another Alpha at a bar and took the picture.” He let out a deep sigh, shrugging as he said the next words, ”the rest is history.”

Shiro’s eyes grew sympathetic, he seemed immensely distressed as he spoke. “You don’t have to tell us everything if you don’t want to.”

The Alpha on the bed just shrugged. “Who else is there to hide it from? I have nothing now, there’s nothing left to lose.”

Lance felt a deep hollowness in his chest. He can’t believe a parent would ever do something like this to their own child. Lotor didn’t deserve it. No one did.

He felt a reassuring hand on his shoulder, and turned to face Shiro. His eyes were clouded over and his face grim. He looked like he was preparing himself for a long evening.

“Go wait outside, Lance. I just need to talk to Lotor for a bit.”

Lotor couldn’t seem to care less. He was just on his bed staring into the distance, face serene as if the calm before the storm. But Lance could feel he was ashamed, angry, scared all at once. No one liked losing their family, their pack. Least of all Alphas. No matter how much Lotor tried to make it seem like the opposite, Lance knew he was terrified of what would become of himself now.

“Okay.” With a heavy heart, he stood and carefully closed the door behind him, hoping Shiro would be able to help Lotor somehow. Someone had to.

 

* * *

 

 

“We can help.”

“Absolutely not. I will not sit on your couch and become the family secret you’re all too embarrassed to talk about.” Lotor sounded adamant, looking away from Shiro as he spat the words out harshly.

“It doesn’t need to be like that. All I’m saying is let us help you,” Shiro said with sincerity, “You can stay with us if you want to. For as long as you need to. But the little things, you can do that on your own, if you like. Just let us be there for you.”

He was considering it. Shiro’s plan was simple. Lotor was to stay with them for an indefinite amount of time until he picked up the pieces of his life again. They would become his pack, it was definitely a big thing.

Despite his best efforts, he found himself slowly tearing up at the prospect. Shiro was suggesting something life-changing. He didn’t have to be alone, not now. Maybe not ever. He didn’t have to become another statistic.

Shiro either didn’t notice or was too polite to point out his tears. Whichever it was, he just handed Lotor a glass of water and looked like he was offering a hug. Lotor smiled through the tears, bringing up a bruised hand to wipe his face messily, and accepted it.

“This day is turning out better than I thought. Here I am embracing the famous Takashi Shirogane.”

He could feel the deep chuckle rumbling in Shiro’s chest. He couldn’t help but laugh himself. “Sometimes I don’t know if you’re flirting or genuinely mocking me.”

“It’s a mix of both, actually,” Lotor replied, sweetly. He could care less that he probably looked like a mess right now, his hair in knots and his face swollen. But Shiro looked at him like he was worth everything in the world and that only kept him smiling wider.

They were the same, the two of them. He remembered the night Shiro told him crystal clear. The only difference was probably that Shiro had a family who loved and accepted him. Even with that, he could hardly bring himself to feel jealous. All he felt was a warmth in his chest, something hopeful spurring.

He can get through this, he knew. He didn’t have to rely on his parents anymore, he can live on his own and finally do things he wanted to. He can get a job, get his own flat, quit the stupid football team-

Then a thought settled and he felt his shoulders slump in defeat.

“I’d have to quit university.”

“No, you don’t.”

“Yes, I do. Unless your invite also extends to paying a fortune to keep me there.”

“ _Well_...”

“No,” Lotor said with finality. He shook his head and stared at Shiro in the eyes with all the seriousness he could muster. “I am not doing that to your family. I’m going to finish this semester and then quit.”

“Are you really sure about that?” Shiro looked at him in worry.

“Yes.”

He could focus on other things, anything, Like his job, his career. He could try to earn a little money for himself and be proud for once that it didn’t have anything to do with his parents. He could do everything himself and feel satisfaction that it didn’t come from them and their connections. He could live like a lone wolf, maybe travel around like he always wanted. Not those insignificant business trips he always had to go to, but really travel. Get to see what the world around him was really like.

And, on the days he felt alone. On the days the loneliness was too much to bear, maybe he’d have someone there for him too someday.

He glanced at Shiro, who gave him an encouraging smile. he had nothing, he knew. But, in that moment, everything was enough.

 

* * *

 

“So, he’s okay?” Matt’s voice was choppy on the beat up landline phone, but it was the only thing the hospital allowed him to use. And his cell died decades ago on the way to the hospital. After all, he wasn’t expecting to go on the adventure he had.

“More or less,” Lance winced as he replied, remembering Lotor’s semi-mangled state, “though I think he would’ve been better with Keith here.”

God, what he would do to be able to see his boyfriend right now. He was normally good at these situations, but Keith and Lotor had a bond that was hard to understand, much less replicate. He doubted he could bring anything to Lotor right now except mild irritation.

“Speaking of, how is he?”

“Crying mostly. Whining and other… inappropriate noises.” The older Holt sibling awkwardly coughed into the phone. “But doing okay. He doesn’t seem to want to leave the room, at least.”

“Well, we’ll be home soon, so just tell him to wait for a bit longer.”

Just then, Shiro exited the hospital room and starting making his way to Lance, holding an empty glass and gesturing at the phone Lance was holding. “Gotta go, I think Shiro wants to talk.”

“Bye. Take care of Lotor.”

“How’d it go?” He asked as soon as he hung up on Matt.

Shiro scratched his head and stared at the ground. “Good, I think. He’s better now. But I think we’ll need to game plan for tonight.”

“What’s with tonight?”

“They won’t let him leave yet, so someone will have to stay over,” Shiro explained, “I haven’t signed any papers yet, but I told them we’re planning to take Lotor in in our pack from now on.”

“Woah.” That was a big decision to make. He felt happy for them, knowing they were so keen on helping Lotor get back on his feet.

“So they’ve allowed me to stay for the night,” Shiro said, then pointed to Lance, “You will have to go back home and take care of Keith for the night since Matt can’t.”

“Me?”

“I’m trusting you, Lance,” he insisted, “I need you to take care of Keith for tonight. Make sure you guys doesn’t do anything you both end up regretting.”

Lance nodded in determination. Shiro’s shoulders fell and he looked a little bit more relieved, seeing the sincerity in Lance’s eyes was enough to reassure him.

“Good, I already told Matt the plan. He should be getting ready to head home when you arrive.” The older Alpha patted him on the shoulder and opened his palm, revealing the silver car keys. “Good luck. Call me if anything happens.”

 

* * *

 

The moment Matt left the house, he headed upstairs to see his Omega.

He could hear Keith whining through the door, so he brought a hand up and tentatively knocked on the door. “Keith, it’s me. You alright in there?”

No answer. Keith was still crying, sobbing more like it and it was making his chest clench in pain. “Baby, it’s me. You okay?”

Then a soft cry was heard, one of relief. “ _ Alpha _ .”

His voice was thick, obviously Keith was deep in his heat. At least he knew he was still okay somehow.

Although it was hard for him, he began to slowly walk away. “I’m gonna go call a pizza place. Be right back.”

“Alpha!” The voice sounded indignant. Bratty, even. Lance rolled his eyes. Now he knew he was really okay, just persistent.

He headed down to the kitchen and took a flyer on the kitchen door, held up by a cute turtle magnet. In about twenty minutes after calling, someone was ringing the doorbell and a bored-looking pizza delivery guy in his teens was showing up on the front door.

“Thanks, man,” Lance said as he was handed the box and his change. He brought out two plates and filled Keith’s with two slices, figuring he would know if the Omega wanted more.

_Now for the tricky part_. Lance went back upstairs and slowly opened the door, making sure to only get the plate in. “Here’s the pizza, babe. Just call if you want more slices,” he assured. Then shut the door just as quickly. Although it was fast, he still managed to catch a whiff of that intoxicating scent, becoming a little dazed himself.

He remembered his promise to Shiro, though. Nothing like that tonight. Tonight, he was going to be a good boyfriend to Keith. He was going to prove himself worthy.

Lance went back downstairs and helped himself to the pizza while taking advantage of Shiro's Netflix account. Three episodes into Black Mirror and he was starting to feel the drowsiness take in. There were four slices left, and his own plate was licked clean. He might as well go upstairs to check on Keith again.

"Babe? I'm coming in to get your plate," he warned before entering, knowing the Omega was probably on the other side waiting to pounce on him. Everything was tidied up downstairs. The dishes were put away and washed, while the remaining pizza was kept in a plastic container and put away. All he had left to do was wash Keith's dishes and shower, then head to sleep in Shiro's room like the Alpha instructed.

But, upon cracking the door open, he realized why Keith was being so quiet.

The Omega was on his nest, panting and flushed from head to toe. The pizza was left half eaten next to him as he was completely immobile on top of the sheets. "Keith!"

He quickly rushed over to his boyfriend and cradled the Omega in his arms. Keith coughed weakly in his arms and buried his head into Lance's shirt. He was shaking and sweating like crazy, even though he was practically naked.

Lance acted quickly and swiped the water bottle on one of the tables, bringing it to Keith's mouth. "Come on, babe. You need some water."

The Omega thankfully complied and drank some of it, pushing away the bottle when he had had enough.

Feeding him was harder, though. Keith refused to open his mouth or was straight out too tired to. Lance had to coax him into getting a few bites in before giving up himself, figuring he could just make sure the Omega ate well in the morning.

Afterwards he scrambled around the room to find a clean washcloth, anything to cool the Omega down. He came back with a wet cloth and dabbed it on the Omega's flushed face.

"Stay here, I'll just wash your dishes."

"Stay," Keith said, tugging on Lance's shirt to get his attention. Like this, the Omega looked so at peace. He looked like he was straight out of a painting, surrounded by white sheets and pillows, his hair a mess and a flush going all the way down to his chest. In other words, he looked absolutely perfect.

And he _wanted_ to. God, he did. Not even to do anything remotely sexual, it was all for the sake of making sure Keith was alright. Making sure his Omega was okay throughout the night.

“Stay,” Keith repeated, barely louder than a whisper as his eyes fell shut, “please.”

Lance glanced at the door and back at his sleeping boyfriend. He pushed the pizza aside, making it a problem for another day. The Alpha then grabbed one of the pillows in the nest and plopped down next to Keith. When he did, he felt Keith sling an arm around his waist.

“Good night, Keith.”

“Good night, Alpha.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for bringing in such a heavy topic, but I really wanted to keep things realistic. These situations do happen in real life and I wanted to make sure people know that (and since this fic reflects reality too anyway I added it).
> 
> Lotor will get his life together, with the help of Keith and Shiro and everyone else. I hope his cheesy scenes weren't too ooc or anything, I just want my little Galra prince to be happy :(


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter today, sorry guys. I'm running out of ideas writing all this fluff.
> 
> warning: extremely fluffy klance

Lance woke up to Keith groaning and rolling around the sheets. By the time he opened his eyes, half the room was already lit up by the sunlight filtering through the window. The sun was already up high enough for him to assume they had slept through breakfast.

“Mornin’, babe,” he greeted sleepily. Keith only groaned again and dove back into his arms. “What time is it?” Keith asked instead of greeting him back.

“Around 10, I’m guessing.”

With a tired huff, he buried his face back into Lance’s clothes before making a confused noise. “Wait, what are you doing here?” Keith shrieked, scrambling back and gripping one of the blankets on the floor to cover himself, “We didn’t… do anything, did we?”

“Nope,” he responded, popping the ‘p’ sound as he sat up and looked for his phone. “You were just really sick yesterday and refused to let me go anywhere. So I stayed.”

“Ugh, God. Heat sucks.”

“You even called me your Alpha, like, twice,” Lance pointed out, smiling deviously. His boyfriend only let out an embarrassed sound and buried his red face in his hands. “Don’t make this worse than it already is, jerk.”

“I thought it was cute,” Lance admitted helpfully. But Keith just rolled his eyes at him and collapsed on the sheets below again, stretching like a cat that’s been asleep for too long. He closed his eyes and Lance thought he was going to fall asleep again. But he just said flatly, “I can’t move.”

“What do you mean?”

“My body hurts all over and I can’t move,” Keith replied snarkily, ”is what I mean.”

“Want me to carry you to the bathroom?”

Keith pouted but nodded anyway. Lance laughed and got up, scooping his boyfriend up and leading both of them to the bathroom en suite. He could imagine it was like they were on their honeymoon. All the time to spare in the world and a house all to themselves. But Keith probably thought differently, with his sour attitude towards his heat.

When they entered the bathroom, Keith’s legs shook as Lance tried to get him to stand on the floor.

“Is this what it’s like  _ all  _ the time?”

“No.” Keith frowned. “Only if it’s really bad. And it was really bad last night.”

“Is it because of me?” He felt a sense of guilt. Keith confirmed his suspicions by nodding mechanically, looking away from him. “I don’t normally  _ need  _ an Alpha there to sate my heat. But, ever since you came along it’s been harder to be alone.”

“Oh?” Lance laid him down on a small stool and turned on the hot water, grabbing a bottle of Keith’s shampoo from the stand. He popped open the cap and got to work on Keith’s hair, engulfing the bathroom with the scent of apples.

“I’ve actually… I wanted to spend the heat with you. Even before the heat took over me,” Keith admittedly softly. “I was going to tell Shiro and ask for permission. I thought we had more time.”

“Thank you.”

“For what?” Keith looked up, surprised. Lance was blushing as he scrubbed his Omega’s hair.

“For thinking about sharing the heat with me. It means a lot,” Lance answered. He remembered what Shiro said, about them talking about the direction of their relationship once Keith was out of his heat craze. Now seemed as good a time as any, so he went with it. “But I don’t think we’re ready.”

Keith’s shoulders slumped in disappointment. Rejecting an Omega’s invitation to share a heat said multitudes of what an Alpha really felt towards them. But it wasn’t like that at all. he’d love to share a heat with Keith, he just knew it wasn’t the responsible thing to do yet. “I’d love to, but we can’t.” Lance bit his lip as he hesitantly mulled over the next words he was going to say. “First, I wanna court you, for real. Officially. Then when I meet your parents and we become mates, I want to spend your heat with you.”

“If that’s alright with you,” he added in the end, nervously awaiting Keith's response.

“Mates?” Keith’s voice suddenly grew small.

“Yeah.” Lance swallowed. “I’m sorry if this is all too forward, I was just thinking maybe-”

“You’re proposing.” Keith smiled to himself. Fingers fidgeting as he thought over his next words in his head. “And I say yes. I’d love to be your mate in the future, Lance McClain.”

“I’d carry you up and kiss you right now,” he said after stunned silence, “but I think you’d slap me for it.”

Keith giggled and swatted him, covering both of them in soapy bubbles.

 

* * *

“Hey, welcome back,” Lance greeted, stepping aside to let Shiro and Lotor in. Shiro noted how his gaze lingered on Lotor's state before darting away quickly. "There's our champ. You doing okay?"

"Don't call me that," is Lotor's terse reply. Shiro smiled and slung an arm over his shoulder, drawing Lotor closer to him. "He's fine, Lance. Doing better, at least. Doctor said he'll be up like before in no time."

“I talked to my mother. She said they’ll send what’s left of my possessions here by Tuesday,” Lotor informed them, plopping down on the couch. Shiro nodded and took a seat next to him. “Until then, we’ll let you borrow our clothes for a while.” Then he turned to Lance. “How’s Keith?”

“Mostly normal.” The younger Alpha just shrugged “Still barely moving, still sounding  _ pretty  _ desperate through the door. But otherwise stable.”

“Thank you, Lance,” Shiro said, giving out a sigh of relief. “It means a lot to me.”

Lance gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder in return, hoisting Lotor's bag over his shoulder and making his way out of the living room. "Where do you want these? In your bedroom, I assume?"

"Yes, please."

He could feel Lance's eyes on them again as he disappeared up the stairs. Lance wasn't the brightest of Alphas, but he did know how to read the situation. Shiro was thankful his friend gave them a little time alone, he glanced at Lotor by his side and saw the Alpha's gaze clouded over.

"What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking about everything I lost." Lotor sighed, probably knowing he wouldn't be able to hide his emotions from Shiro by now. "After today, I am officially on my own."

"No, you're not." Shiro responded, laying a hand on Lotor's shoulder and giving him a firm look. "You're with us now. And we won't let you go through any of this alone."

For once, he managed to get a smile out of Lotor. It took him back to where they were last night, both of them wide awake in the middle of the night unable to sleep because of the day's events.

_"I don't ever want you to feel like it's your fault,"_ he remembered saying. He remembered the way the light shone in Lotor's eyes as it filled with tears before he turned away from Shiro. _"It always feels like that at first."_

_ "How would you know?" _

So Shiro told him. He told him about being guilty about everything at first. He told him about telling Keith, then telling the rest of his family. How they all were shocked but accepted him anyway. Then he told him about Adam, his first boyfriend.

_ "What was he like?" _

_ Shiro breathed out a sigh, heart clenching in pain as if their breakup had only happened days before. "Perfect," he finally said, "but imperfect in every way too. I don't know how to explain it. Why?" _

_ "I just wanted to know who made the great Takashi Shirogane fall so hard." Lotor chuckled, wiping the tears off of his eyes. "And why they were ever dumb enough to leave." _

To his surprise, he felt strong arms encircle him and a warm body pressed against his. "Thank you, Shiro. For everything."

Lotor was barely above a whisper, as if he wanted only Shiro to hear it. Not Lance, not Keith, not the world around them and the people in it. For once, it was just the two of them in the world. And it was a feeling Shiro never felt about anyone ever before. Not even Adam.

"You don't need to thank me for anything."

 

* * *

 

 

Going back home felt like a surreal experience. Lance got used to smelling Keith's heat scent in the air that, when he couldn't anymore, he felt genuinely distressed. He felt like he needed to _be_ there, to be _his_ Alpha guarding him. Just knowing Keith was okay made him feel better too. But when he couldn't see him, couldn't smell him, it put him on the edge.

"Take care of him, alright?" Shiro just rolled his eyes at him, with Lotor by his side suppressing a smirk at his reaction.

"Lance, he's my brother. I've taken care of him for 19 years."

"Okay, okay. But you get it, right?"

"Yeah, I know how Alphas can be with an Omega in heat," Lotor supplied, "Now shoo, he's in safe hands now."

Lance felt warmth flood his cheeks. He cleared his throat and managed a weak smile for the both of them. "I'll get going then."

They made a pretty good sight, he could admit. He didn't know how much closer last night made them, but he was certain they were headed down the right path.

Shiro brought up a hand to wave at him. Lotor did the same, in considerably high spirits ever since he got to Shiro's home. To his _new_ home.

And he couldn't help but smile wider at that too. He knew moving in was a big thing for all of them. But, he couldn't help but think Lotor was doing the right thing. Finally, he was where he belonged.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooooo I've been gone for the last few months because of finals and now I'm possibly going to be gone forever because of the Tumblr NSFW purge. I'm not talking gone-gone, I guess. I'll still post updates on my nsfw blog and reblog every now and then. But everything will certainly be limited because of the ban. I'm kinda depressed about the whole thing but I'm slowly moving on with my new pal Twitter (see my account link in my Tumblr).
> 
> Also! Sorry to slide this in here in such a weird time but it's the holiday season! Lotsa things to buy and also lotsa things to spend on. So I would really, really (like, really, I'm a broke college student writing fanfics every now and then in my free time) appreciate it if you drop by my Ko-Fi to support me in any way possible (link in my Tumblr). Just the tiniest help would be great this season, but don't feel bad if you can't donate anyway. Just commenting and giving kudos and literally anything that lets me know you're enjoying my work is good enough! So thank you, and happy holidays everyone! <3


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally.

The holiday season rolled in faster than Lance could remember and soon, it was time to pack his bags and head back home to Arizona with Hunk.

But there were still a lot of goodbyes in check. There was a lot he was going to miss about that place. Even if he was only going home for the holidays.

There was Pidge, who always delighted him with her backhanded and sarcastic comments, no matter how much he pretended to hate them sometimes. There was Shiro, who was kind and caring, and probably the best mentor he could’ve ever asked for.

Then there was Keith.

Lance bit his lip as he knocked on the door of the Shirogane residence. It was already late, with the sun setting behind them. With the night rolling in, it was getting even colder. Lance reveled in the cold, however, knowing that being back in Arizona soon meant back to to hot, sandy streets of South America. Hunk shivered beside him, his teeth chattering as they waited for someone to open the door.

Shiro’s face soon greeted them with a warm smile. He pulled them both in for a big hug that melted the snow right off their coats. “You guys made it!”

“Wouldn’t miss it, man,” Hunk replied, hastily stepping into the apartment and breathing in the warm, gingerbread-scented air. “It’s not everyday you have an almost-Christmas Christmas party.”

“And Keith?” he asked cautiously. Shiro gave him a smirk and pointed to the kitchen. “He’s in there. Should be done with the hot chocolate by now..”

“Thanks, Shiro.” Lance said with a grin before shedding his coat and making his way to the kitchen.

It’s been a week since he last saw Keith. After the whole heat business settled down and the Omega was able to move all his limbs functionally, they were instantly bombarded with finals week. It meant a week of tests, presentations, and most importantly — no Keith. Shiro declared a mandatory ban on dating “for both of their sakes” so that Lance could pull his grades up and Keith could focus on studying. He tended to forget the only reason he met Shiro in the first place was because he tutored him, it seemed so long ago that he was an absolute mess hung up on Nyma of all people and now…

_ Now _ , he smiled as he thought about a certain Omega,  _ now I am right where I want to be. _

He moved through a crowd of people until he finally found the doorway to the kitchen. Just when he was about to enter it, he bumped into Lotor, who was carrying a tray of mugs and looked like he was forced into a cheesy Rudolf sweater by Shiro.

He didn’t look quite surprised to see Lance there, just giving him a plain look. “Oh. Keith’s boytoy.”

“You know you’re gonna have to stop calling me that one day.”

“When will that day be, I wonder,” the taller Alpha mused.

“Maybe when I start calling you Shiro’s boytoy.”

Lotor sputtered and almost dropped his tray. Lance noted how his cheeks immediately colored at the words. “You’re such an arse.”

“Hey, I’m just telling the truth.” Lance put his two hands up defensively in retaliation, grinning maniacally at Lotor’s reaction.

“Oh, shut up.”

Lance laughed and grabbed a mug from Lotor’s tray, walking past him into the kitchen.

Inside the kitchen, there was only Keith. It seemed as if he somehow quarantined that section of the house, driving away any party goers that came close.

The Omega was busy fanning a hand over a tray of slightly burnt gingerbread cookies.

Lance almost chuckled at the sight. He could imagine coming home from work like this, stressed out and drained from his job. Just to see the sight of his adorable Omega fussing over baked goods. There was no better way to end the day.

He put his mug down on the counter and saw the way Keith’s shoulders tensed up.

“I said I’ll be done with the cookies in a while, Shi-” The Omega turned to face him and he immediately gasped aloud.

“Surprise...?” Lance said with a smile, extending his hands a little to goad Keith into a hug. Keith took the chance instantly and leapt into Lance’s arms, burying his face into his scarf.

“I missed you!”

“I missed you too,” Lance whispered, bringing Keith’s face up so they could look at each other. But Keith just closed his eyes and leaned forward, bringing him into a loving kiss. The Alpha hummed in delight and brought his hand up Keith’s hair, gently cradling his head.

Keith then pulled them apart too soon, bringing up a cookie with his hand. “I tried to bake for you. And er… Hunk said they’re you’re favorite. Sorry I got them a little burned, though.”

Lance smiled and bit into the cookie while Keith held it up. “I love it!”

“You sap,” Keith tried to glare, but his cheery grin was ruining it. “You’re just saying that ”

“Nope, it is my new favorite thing in the world to eat: Keith’s slightly burned homemade gingerbread cookies.”

“You weirdo.”

They both laughed and leaned in for another kiss. Just then, Lotor made his presence known in the doorway by clearing his throat loudly. The two jumped away from each other out of reflex.

“Dude!” Lance cried out.

“My apologies,” Lotor said, but he didn’t look all that sorry. “But Shiro is looking for the cookies.”

* * *

The rest of the party was somewhat of a blur to Lance. He probably ended up drinking too much for a Christmas party, if he was being honest. And that probably didn’t look good in front of his boyfriend’s big brother. But, hey, baby steps.

Keith, Lance, and the rest of the gang settled on some couches in the living room, drunkenly singing Christmas songs on Shiro’s semi-busted karaoke machine and exchanging gifts.

Lotor was busy talking about the first time he met Lance, aka the time he and Keith figured it’d be funny to fool the Alpha into thinking they were an item. Lance was red in the face (and not just from the alcohol) as Keith giggled and added parts Lotor missed.

“And you even slammed the bathroom door!” Keith laughed, recalling the memory “I swear you were taking the world’s angriest piss in there.”

“Oh, haha,” Lance said without an ounce of laughter. “Come here, you troublesome Omega.”

He nuzzled Keith’s neck and gave him a playful kiss on the cheek, leaving the Omega grinning ear to ear. “You will be the death of me someday.”

“Keep your distance, Lance,” Shiro warned, sipping his mug of hot chocolate. “I think it’s sweet,” Hunk said, while Pidge and Lotor made gagging noises in the background (Lance had a feeling they would get along… and become a force to be reckoned with when they do).

“Sorry, man.” But he was still smiling, he had a hand around Keith’s waist and felt wholly content sitting there. “Now let’s open some presents.”

Hunk got them all their favorite treats and Pidge gave them an assortment of ironic gifts. Keith was busy opening Shiro’s gift (cool, a pair of new black gloves) when Lance nudged him. “Hey, meet me outside,” he said with a mischievous wink.

* * *

“So why are we sneaking out of the party?” Keith questioned his boyfriend. “I’d love a blowjob right now, but I’m trying not to freeze my balls off.”

Lance sputtered and reddened, looking around as if seeing if anyone out in the snow heard them. It was no use anyway. It was only them out, everyone else wasn’t crazy enough to sit out in the cold when they had Shiro’s warm apartment. The snow washed everything in white, and snowflakes gently dusted Keith’s coat. He couldn’t help but think it was a little romantic, despite the cold.

“Because I have a present for you. Extra special, so I couldn’t bring it out in there.”

“Why am I not surprised?” he asked sarcastically, rolling his eyes but smiling.

“You will be when I show you these,” Lance said, taking out two tickets from his pocket and waving them in front of Keith. Keith’s dark eyes widened and a smile stretched across his face. “No  _ way _ .”

“Yup, that’s two tickets to Arizona this coming summer. I’m going home, and I’m gonna show the world my adorable boyfriend!” Lance scooped his giggling Omega up and gave him an enthusiastic, sloppy kiss on the cheek.

“You huge dork.” Keith smiled as he wiped his wet cheek. Then his eyes grew misty. “I can’t believe I’m going to meet your family.”

“Yup, you’re going to love them.”

“What if...” Keith frowned and averted his eyes to the ground. “What if they don’t like me?”

He looked so conflicted, Lance couldn’t help but want to kiss the frown out of his face. “Of course they will!”

“What makes you say that?”

“Because I love you and that means they gotta love you too, no matter what.”

Keith just giggled and leaned in closer to Lance, until his head was on his shoulder. Forget the cold, Lance’s words was enough to make him feel warm and fuzzy inside.

“Merry Christmas, Lance McClain,” Keith whispered next to him. “I love you.”

And Lance never felt happier.

* * *

Since it was Lance’s last day on campus, Keith was allowed to stay with Lance for the night. Shiro rolled his eyes when they (mostly Keith) proposed it, knowing exactly what it meant for the two of them. But he begrudgingly said yes anyway.

Hunk was staying with Shay again (thankfully) that meant they had the dorm all to themselves.

By the time they got home, they were both too drained to watch a movie or anything else. They just ended up lazily making out atop of Lance’s sheets as some cheesy Christmas song played in the background — probably from someone else’s dorm.

Keith moaned underneath Lance and went straight for his pants, unbuckling his belt and pulling his zipper down. “Been waiting to do that-” he said breathily “-all day.”

Keith, knowing where he kept the rest of his supplies, grabbed lube from the drawer. Then he turned over and pulled down his pants, spreading himself for Lance’s eyes. “I figured you’d want to do it.”

“You were right.” Lance grinned, crashing their mouths together again in a searing kiss and coating his fingers generously with lube. He carefully stuck one in, then two, scissoring them apart. By the time he had three moving in and out of Keith, the Omega was moaning into the kiss and gripping the sheets so hard. “You’re so hot, mami. And so tight,” he said. “Can’t wait to finally fuck your brains out.”

Keith turned over again and pulled Lance down. “I’m ready. Do it, Lance.”

Lance caught the sight of something in the corner of his eye. Then it gave him an idea. He stepped away from the bed and listened to the Omega’s impatient whines. “What is it?”

“I have an idea.”

“Better be a goddamn good one.”

Keith rolled his eyes but he let Lance carry him anyway. He brought his Omega in front of a tall body mirror and plunged him down onto his leaking cock. Keith’s eyes rolled back in pleasure and a loud moan rung throughout the room. “Oh god. This feels so much better.”

Behind him, Lance was struggling to keep it together. The hole tightened and fluttered around his weeping erection. He instinctively let out a loud growl until he bottomed out.

“Look at you.” Lance’s whispered while thrusting up, carrying the weight of his Omega up only with his arms, “you look like a dirty slut sliding down my cock. Look how well I can fuck you.”

Lance pressed Keith’s body into the mirror, watching the mist gather up on the surface of the mirror as Keith panted into it. He focused on holding his weight up, using gravity to bring the Omega down into his throbbing length over and over again.

“All yours, Alpha,” Keith whispered as he heaved heavy breaths “I’m all yours. Mark me up.”

The last words had him faltering in his movements. “Keith… are you sure?”

“Yes!” The Omega sounded a little desperate. A  _ lot  _ desperate. “I want to be yours, Lance!”

Lance readied himself and bit into the Omega’s porcelain skin, puncturing into the flesh of his neck and marking him up for good. Keith threw his head back and cried out in pleasure, the inner walls tightening around Lance’s dick.

“I can’t- I’m ahhh-!”

That was Keith’s only warning before he was coming straight unto the mirror, clenching on the throbbing dick inside him.

The sensations around him were maddening, almost to the point of insanity. He was sure that the Omega would surely be the death of him someday. They would find him blissed out and lifeless on a curb someday and it would all be Keith’s fault.

He moaned into the bite and finally let go, watching the blood splatter unto the mirror due to their actions. He was close, he could feel it. Already there was a feeling churning in his stomach, ready to burst. “Come inside me.”

“What?”

“Inside me. Do it.” Keith said hurriedly, wincing from overstimulation. “I’m took a pill. It’s safe.”

Lance thrusted one final time and moaned aloud, watching as the base of his penis grew to a knot. He sunk deep into Keith and shot jets of come into the Omega’s insides. Keith whimpered and gasped at the stretch. When Lance looked down to see where they connected, he was surprised to see the come leaking out of Keith’s asshole and down unto the floor. Keith’s shaky legs were still held up, making him look like a sight for sore eyes in the mirror.

He looked absolutely fucked out. His cheeks were flushed deliciously red and his hair was sticking to his sweaty skin. Most of all, he was obscenely stretched around Lance’s growing knot. Blood was still dripping from his mating bite.

Lance let out a content sigh and carried his Omega over to the bed, gently putting them down into a comfortable position. “This is gonna take a while.”

“It’s worth it.” Keith giggled, leaning into Lance to give him a long kiss.

“I can’t believe I marked you.” He said, dumbfounded now that everything was coming back to him and the pleasurable high was gone from the air. “Shiro is gonna kill me.”

“Yeah but, he’ll have to wait until you’re back from Arizona. By then he will have cooled down,”  Keith laughed while he reasoned. Then he cuddled into Lance in a sweet manner, content to lay by his side. “Besides, now the world knows that I am yours. And you are mine.”

Lance’s eyelids fluttered in exhaustion. He felt a yawn stirring in him, and soon he let it out, hugging his boyfriend — his mate — close and dreaming the rest of the world away. When Keith put it that way, it didn’t seem so bad. Then again, Keith always had a way of convincing him to do things he wouldn’t otherwise do. Turns out, that included getting a mate.

He was dangerous for him, he knew. But Lance wouldn’t have it any other way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright first off, thank you so much for supporting this story until the very end!! I'm glad I finally got to end it and I'm glad I have all of your who supported me until I did! Don't forget to donate to my Ko-Fi (link in my Tumblr) if you enjoyed this story, it would really help me out a lot!
> 
> Also, no one @ me about the GoT reference/line back there in the post-sex scene. I had nothing else to write.
> 
> Aaaaand don't forget to subscribe! I have a series planned out and hopefully I'll find the time and creative energy to write it out soon. PS it covers Keith's trip to Lance's home and Lance's first time meeting Keith's whole family. Also I could really use some help figuring out the traditions and culture of Cuba, so if anyone is interested in helping-- just message me on Tumblr and let me know!
> 
> Thanks again, guys. It's really been a wild, dangerous ride.

**Author's Note:**

> Meet me in Bottom Keith hell aka [Tumblr](https://omegakeith.tumblr.com/)
> 
> PSA: This work was made by a multishipper, will not tolerate discourse in the comments


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